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SAYBROOK,  CONN. 
Saybrook • s  ^uadrimillenial . 


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1885 


2  ^Otli  Anniversary 


(IF     VHV. 


I  Settlement  of  Saybrook. 


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S.l  VnROOK'S    OUADRIMILLRNIAr. 


COMMEMORATION 


OF   THE 


250111  Anniversary 


Settlement  of  Sayl}rook, 


NOVEMBER  27,    18S5. 


HARTFORD : 
PRESS    OF    C  I.  A  R  K    \    SMITH 

1886. 


V 


To  OUR  p.raVe  ancestors, 

THE     NOBLE     MEN     AND     WOMEN 

WHO   I'.y   THEIR    INDOMITABLE   ENERGY   AND   COURAGE 

MADE  A  HOME  IN  THIS  NEW  WORLD, 

DO   WE   THEIR    DAUGHTERS   IN   LOVING    MEMORY 

DEDICATE   THIS   WORK. 


PREFATORY   NOTE. 


*"  I  ""HE  approacliing  250111  anniversary  of  the  settlement  of  Sav- 
brook,  in  the  State  of  Connecticut,  having  attracti-d  i)ulillc 
attention,  a  special  town  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Old  Saybrook 
was  called  in  reference  thereto,  and  was  held  on  the  9th  day  of 
March,  A.  D.  1885. 

At  that  meeting  Samuel  H.  Lord,  Esq.,  was  chosen  moderator, 
and  the  following  preamble  and  resolution  were  adopted  :  — 

Whereas  :  The  present  year  ni-irks  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  Say- 
brook,  it  being  the  250th  anniversary  of  iis  first  settlement,  A.  D. 
lf)35,  by  English  colonists  ;  therefore  be  it 

Resolved :  That  a  committee  be  a])pointed  to  lake  into  consider- 
ation the  subject  of  an  appropriate  celebration  of  the  event,  to 
designate  the  time  of  such  celebration,  the  probable  expense  of 
the  same,  and  report  at  a  future  meeting. 

A  committee  of  nineteen  i)ersons,  of  whom  four  were  ladies,  and 
all  selected  from  the  old  families  of  the  town,  was  then  appointed. 
At  an  adjourned  town  meeting,  held  on  the  3oth  of  that  month, 
the  sum  of  $200.00  was  voted  to  be  placed  at  the  disposition  of 
the  committee  for  the  purposes  of  the  celebration  ;  and  it  was 
also  voted  to  invite  the  towns  which  were  a  part  of  the  original 
town  of  Saybrook,  viz.  :  Chester,  Esse.x,  Saybrook,  Westbrook, 
Lyme,  Old  Lyme,  and  East  Lyme,  to  participate  in  the  occasion, 
and  appropriate  therefor  the  sum  of  ^100.00  each. 

This  committee  organized,  and  held  several  meetings,  but 
fiuestions  having  arisen  as  to  the  legality  of  such  town  appropria- 
tions, the  project  was  finally  abandoned  by  the  committee. 


6  Prefatory  Mote. 

lUit  the  interest  in  the  subject  that  had  been  awakened  moved 
the  ladies  numerously  to  assemble,  and  take  such  action  in  favor 
of  the  commemoration  of  the  event,  as  was  then  practicable. 

As  the  result  of  that  action,  the  celebration  took  place  on 
Friday,  the  27th  day  of  November,  1885,  in  the  presence  of  a 
large  and  appreciative  audience,  at  the  Congregational  Church  in 
Old  Saybrook,  which  had  been  handsomely  decorated  for  the 
occasion. 

The  exercises  commenced  at  one  o'clock  p.  m.  and  were 
concluded  at  half-past  four. 

The  Ladies'  Committees  were  as  follows,  viz.  : — 

111  the  priiuipal  Executive  Charge  of  Arrangements  : 

MISS  HETTY  B.  H.  WOOD,  Chairman, 
MRS.  JOHN  D.  INGRAHAM, 
MRS.  AMOS  S.  CHESEBROUGH, 
MISS  AGNES  A.  ACTON, 
MISS  FRANCES  C.   SHEPARD, 
MISS  GRACE  E.  SPENCER. 


On  Music 


MRS.  WILLIAM  E.  CLARK, 
MISS  MARIA  L.  DICKINSON, 
MRS.  C.  P.  DAVIS. 


On  Decorations  : 


MRS.  CHARLES  W.  MORSE, 
MRS.  DAVID  W.  CLARKE, 
MRS.  SAMUEL  H.  PRATT. 


SAYBROOK'S  QUADRIMILLENIAL. 


COMMEMORATIVE  EXERCISES. 


A  FTER   an   organ   voluntary,   rendered   by   Mrs.    C. 
Davis,  a  chorus  choir  sang  the  following  hymn  : 


"THE  ROCK  OF  THE  PILGRIMS." 

A  rock  in  tlie  wilderness  welcomed  our  sires 

From  homes  far  away  o'er  the  dark  rolling  sea  ; 

On  that  holy  altar  they  kindled  the  fires, 

Jehovah,  which  glow  in  our  bosoms  for  Thee. 

Thy  blessings  descended  in  sunshine  and  shower, 
Or  rose  from  the  soil  that  was  sown  by  Thy  hand. 

The  mountain  and  valley  rejoiced  in  Thy  power, 
And  heaven  encircled  and  smiled  on  the  land. 

In  church  and  cathedral  we  kneel  in  our  prayer, 
Their  temple  and  chapel  were  valley  and  hill  ; 

But  God  is  the  same  in  aisle  or  the  air, 

And  He  is  the  rock  that  we  lean  upon  still. 

The  Hon,  John  Allen,  Chairnian  of  the  meeting,  then 
spoke  as  follows  : — 

Friends  aud  Fclloiv-  Citizens  : 

Under  the  auspices  of  a  committee  of  ladies  of  the  town  of 
Old  Saybrook, — worthy  descendants  of  the  Pilgrim  mothers, 
— you  have  met  to  celebrate  the  250th  anniversary,  occur- 
ring this  year  and  month,  of  the  first  settlement  of  Saybrook 
by  English  colonists. 


8  Saybroo/cs  Qiiadriniillciiial. 

The  history  of  that  settlement,  which  will  be  outlined  to 
you  to-day,  is  that  of  a  free  and  brave  people,  our  Puritan 
ancestors,  accepting  the  struggle  and  suffering  incident  to  the 
achievement  of  a  more  perfect  degree  of  civil  and  religious 
freedom. 

Restricted  by  natural  barriers  to  commerce  from  becom- 
ing a  populous  city,  Saybrook  has  not  arisen  to  the  business 
importance  its  founders  anticipated,  but  their  descendants 
have  maintained  here  a  well-ordered,  prosperous  conmiunity, 
and  have  creditably  participated  in  shaping  the  present 
civilization  of  the  nation,  and  in  framing  and  judicially  inter- 
preting its  laws. 

Prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  BERNARD  Paine,  Pastor 
of  the  Congregational  Church. 

The  Rev.  SAMUEL  Hart,  D.  D.,  Professor  in  Trinity 
College,  Hartford,  a  native  of  Saybrook,  was  then  introduced 
and  made  an  address  on 

"THE    HISTORY   OF  THE   EARLY   SETTLEMENT." 

]\Ir.  Chairman,  Citizens  of  our  Ancient   Town,  Ladies  and 
Gentlemen  : 

One  does  not  apologize  for  obeying  the  commands  of  a 
mother.  Our  common  mother,  the  venerable  village  of  Say- 
brook, has  not  passed  through  her  quarter  of  a  millenium 
without  some  trials  and  some  disturbances  of  her  quiet;  but 
on  the  whole  her  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  have  been  so 
peaceful,  the  wrinkles  have  gathered  so  slowly  on  her  brow, 
and  so  little  change  has  found  its  way  into  either  her  outward 
circumstances  or  her  inner  life,  that  she  did  not  know  until 
the  anniversary  was  close  upon  her  that  she  had  almost 
reached  a  birthday  of  which  she  might  well  be  especially 
proud,  and  to  the  observance  of  which  she  would  certainly 


The  History  of  the  Early  Settlement.  9 

wish  to  invite  all  her  sons  and  daughters.  As  I  am  si)cal<in<,^ 
to  none  who  do  not  love  and  respect  her,  perhaps  you  will 
allow  me  to  say  that  when-it  was  suggested  to  her  that  the 
day  was  approaching,  she  seemed  to  be  a  little  hard  of  hear- 
ing; and  then  she  did  not,  we  thought,  quite  understand  the 
meaning  of  what  we  said;  the  mention  of  a  number,  and  that 
a  pretty  large  one,  gave  her  the  idea  that  we  were  asking  for 
a  subscription  of  some  kind  ;  and  like  a  few  of  her  descendants, 
she  was  not  willing  to  reply  until  she  had  given  the  matter 
careful  attention.  And,  so  long  was  she  in  thinking  of  it, 
that  unless  a  few  of  her  energetic  daughters  had  taken  the 
matter  in  hand,  this  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  birthday  of 
our  common  mother  would  have  passed  without  due  ob- 
servance. May  I  not  express  to  these  daughters  of  Saybrook 
the  thanks  of  all  us  the  rest  ? 

Now  that  we  have  come,  with  scanty  time  for  preparation, 
to  celebrate  this  anniversary,  it  must  not  be,  as  I  was  saying, 
with  words  of  apology.  We  are  doing  as  best  w-e  can  a  duty 
which  has  been  laid  upon  us  by  one  whom  we  have  no  right 
to  disobey.  But  this  at  least  may  be  said,  that  the  history  of 
Saybrook  ought  to  be  written  out  by  some  patient  and  skilful 
pen,  read  at  some  future  day  in  your  presence,  and  put  in 
permanent  form  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  are  to  come 
after  us. 

I  am  to  carry  you  back  in  thought,  as  best  I  may,  to  the 
earliest  times  of  that  history,  when  out  of  a  sort  of  mythical 
haze  we  first  see  events  shaping  themselves  into  figures  of 
real  life,  and  then,  if  I  can,  to  lead  the  way  to  what  others, 
more  competent  and  better  qualified  than  myself,  will  bring 
before  you  as  the  important  facts  in  the  annals  of  our  town. 

Save  for  the  records  of  early  combats  with  the  natives  and 
for  the  traces  which  we  find,  for  the  most  part  beneath  the 
soil,  of  what  they  did  in  war  and  in  peace,  how  they  lived 
and  how  they  were  buried  in  some  hope  of  immortalit)- — 
save  for  such  fragmentary  records,  we  know  ne.xt  to  nothing 
of  those  who  occupied  this  plain,  these  meadows,  and  these 


10  Siiybroo/Ss   Oiiadriniillcnial. 

hills  before  the  eyes  of  enterprising  Europeans  saw  the 
mouth  of  our  fair  and  quiet  river,  and  the  hope  of  commerce 
and  of  resulting  wealth  led  them  to  set  a  high  value  on  the 
location  of  our  town.  And  there  is  a  very  legendary  air 
about  the  story  of  the  attempted  Dutch  occupation,  when  the 
redoubtable  settlers  of  the  New  Netherlands  claimed  for 
themselves  the  fields  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  the  river 
itself.  Doubtless,  as  in  the  case  of  the  poetic  legends  in 
which  the  history  of  early  Rome  is  enshrined,  it  will  be 
possible  for  some  gifted  student  to  separate,  in  part  at  least, 
the  true  from  the  false,  and  to  tell  us  the  real  story  of  Hans 
den  Sluys.  Ikit  we  arc  not  to-day  Indians  or  Dutchmen  ; 
we  are  not  dwellers  in  Pashbeshauke  or  in  Kievets  Hook  ; 
we  will  simply  assume  that  it  is  true  that  our  ancestors  pur- 
chased their  lands  from  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  and  that 
the  States  General  had  no  jurisdiction  within  the  limits  which 
w.ere  covered  by  the  deed  or  patent  under  which  the  English 
settlers  took  possession.  Homer  did  not  begin  the  history  of 
the  Trojan  war  by  describing  the  egg  from  which  Helen  was 
born*  ;  we  begin  the  history  of  Saybrook  when  it  began  to 
be  Saybrook  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago. 

It  was  a  troubled  time  in  England,  when  a  great  revolution 
was  coming  to  a  head,  and  when,  besides,  the  thoughts  of  a 
large  body  of  men  were  turning  eagerly  and  hopefully  to  the 
Virginia  and  the  New  England  across  the  seas.  Under  the 
auspices  of  the  Plymouth  Company,  settlements  had  been 
made  in  the  IMassachusetts ;  and  that  company  had  trans- 
ferred to  Robert,  PLail  of  Warwick,  its  rights  to  a  tract  of 
land  a  little  further  south;  and  under  date  of  March  19th, 
1 63 1-2,  the  l£arl  of  Warwick  executed  a  deed  or  grant  by 
which  he  conveyed  to  certain  persons,  "their  heirs  and  as- 
signs and  their  associates  forever,"  the  said  lands,  forming  the 
valley  of  the  lower  Connecticut,  and  described  as  extending 
from   a   river   called   Narragansett   to   the   south   sea.      The 

*Nec  gemino  bellum  Trojamim  orJilur  ab  ovo. — Horace,  Ais  Poelica,  147. 


The  History  of  the  Early  Settlement.  1 1 

grantees  first  mentioned  in  this  Company  are  those  whose 
names  our  town  has  perpetuated  —  the  Right  Honorable 
WiUiam,  Viscount  Say  and  Seale,  and  the  Right  Honorable 
Robert,  Lord  Brooke — the  latter  being,  I  suppose,  the  eldest 
son  of  the  Earl  of  Warwick ;  and  among  those  who  were 
joined  with  them  were  the  Right  Honorable  Lord  Rich,  also 
of  the  family  of  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall, 
John  Pym,  and  John  Hampden.  There  is  no  need  to  ask 
what  were  their  political  or  their  religious  views ;  it  could 
probably  be  sajd  of  them  all  as  we  are  told  it  was  said  of 
those  whose  names  stood  foremost,  that  when  they  were 
asked  to  pledge  their  fidelity  to  the  King,  one  of  them  would 
not  Say  the  words,  the  other  would  not  Brook  them.  The 
document  is  called  the  old  Patent  of  Connecticut,  though  on 
its  face  it  is  no  more  than  a  deed.  As  to  its  meaning  and  its 
value  there  may  doubtless  be  questions  ;  certainly  it  was 
treated  as  if  it  were  in  some  sense  the  patent  of  a  govern- 
ment. On  the  7th  of  July,  1635,  John  Winthrop,  Esq.,  the 
younger,  son  of  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  company  who  then  held  the  title  (and  among 
them  was  then  George  Fenwick,  Esquire)  to  be  "  governor 
of  the  river  Connecticut,  and  of  the  harbor  and  places 
adjoining,  for  the  space  of  one  year  after  his  arrival  there  "  ; 
and  Mr.  Winthrop  agreed  to  undertake  the  settlement,  to 
build  a  fort  within  which  should  be  houses  for  "  men  of 
quality",  and  to  "reserve  unto  the  fort,  for  the  maintenance 
of  it,  one  thousand  or  fifteen  hundred  acres,  at  least,  of  good 
ground,  as  near  adjoining  thereunto  as  may  be."  Winthrop 
arrived  at  Boston  in  October;  and,  seeing  the  need  of  haste, 
he  sent  a  vessel  and  twenty  men  to  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
where  there  had  already  been  the  beginning  of  a  settlement, 
and  where  they  arrived  just  in  time  to  frighten  the  Dutch 
from  landing.  It  was  on  the  24th  of  November,  1635, 
almost  two  centuries  and  a  half  ago  to  a  day,  that  the  vessel 
reached  here  from  Boston,  and  formal  possession  was  taken 
jn  the  name  of  Lord  Say  and  Scale,  Lord  Brooke,  and  the 


12  Say/n-oo/Ss   Ouadri))iillcnial. 

rest  of  the  company  who  chiimed  the  lands.  Mr.  Winthrop 
liimself  arrived  a  little  later. 

With  Mr.  Winthrop  (or  perhaps  earlier,  for  we  arc  told  it 
was  on  the  28lh  of  November),  came  Lion  Gardiner,  an 
English  engineer  who  had  been  in  the  service  of  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  and  who  was  employed  to  bnild  the  spacious 
fortifications  which  were  proposed  and  to  lay  out  a  city.  It 
was  expected  that  in  the  next  spring  there  would  "  come 
from  England  three  hundred  able  men,  whereof  two  hundred 
should  attend  fortification,  fifty  to  till  the  ground,  and  fifty  to 
build  houses."  Under  the  most  favorable  circumstances, 
little  could  have  been  done  that  winter  except  to  provide  for 
the  safety  and  the  most  urgent  needs  of  the  colonists  landed 
on  Saybrook  Point  at  the  end  of  November,  with  no  P2uro- 
peans  nearer  than  those  in  the  settlements  at  Hartford,  New 
York,  and  Massachusetts  Bay.  But  this  was  an  exceptionally 
hard  winter.  The  Connecticut  River  was  frozen  over  by  the 
15th  of  November — nine  days  before  the  first  settlers  came 
here — and  the  snow  was  so  deep  to  the  north  of  us  that  the 
settlers  of  Hartford,  who  were  coming  by  land  from  Cam- 
bridge, were  exposed  to  great  suffering,  while  the  storms 
were  so  severe  that  a  company  who  were  attempting  to  reach 
Hartford  by  water  were  wrecked  and  wandered  ten  days 
before  they  met  a  human  being. 

On  the  3d  or  4th  of  December  the  settlers  at  the  fort  had 
unexpected  visitors.  Seventy  men,  women,  and  children,  in 
imminent  danger  of  starvation,  came  from  the  settlements 
up  the  river,  looking  for  the  provisions  which  they  were 
expecting  from  Boston.  The  vessels  for  which  they  looked 
did  not  come  ;  but  the  Rebecca,  a  vessel  which  had  been 
frozen  in  below  the  narrows  in  the  river,  succeeded  in  work- 
ing her  way  out,  and,  taking  them  all  on  board,  carried  them 
back  to  Boston,  liefore  she  sailed,  however,  on  the  loth  of 
December,  1635,  she  ran  aground  upon  the  bar,  this  being 
the  first  record  of  a  phenomenon  with  which  we  have  become 
f  imiiiar.     It  seems  that  those  who  returned  to  Massachusetts 


TJic  History  of  the  Harly  Sctt/cnicnt.  13 

gave  a  dismal  account  of  the  slate  of  things  here ;  for  the 
governor  of  that  colony  ordered  a  general  fast  to  be  observed 
on  account  of  the  peril  of  the  garrison  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Connecticut. 

It  was  a  relief,  no  doubt,  when  the  winter  had  passed;  but, 
to  quote  Mr.  Gardiner's  own  words,  the  "  great  expectation 
at  the  river's  mouth  came  only  to  two  men,  Mr.  Fenwick 
and  his  man,  who  came  [from  Boston]  with  Mr.  Hugh  Peters 
and  Mr.  Oldham  and  Thomas  Stanton."  He  was  greatly 
disappointed;  and  in  1639  he  removed  to  the  island  which 
bears  his  name — he  called  it  the  Isle  of  Wight — where  he 
made  the  first  English  settlement  within  the  limits  of  the 
present  State  of  New  York.  His  son  David  was  born  here 
on  the  29th  of  April,  1636,  being  the  first  white  child  born 
in  what  is  now  Connecticut. 

The  earliest  instance  of  the  use  of  the  name  Saybrook 
which  I  have  found  is  in  the  date  of  a  letter  written  by  Lion 
Gardiner  to  the  younger  Winthrop  bearing  date  "  Say- 
broock,  6  Nov.  1636";  in  another  letter  dated  the  23d  day 
of  the  following  January,  the  name  is  spelled  Seabrooke.  As 
the  present  names  of  Hartfoid,  Wethersfield,  and  Windsor 
were 'not  given  till  1637,  Saybrook  is  the  oldest  town- name 
in  the  State. 

Of  the  two  other  colonies  which  were  early  established 
within  the  present  limits  of  Connecticut,  one  was  almost 
contemporaneous  with  that  at  Saybrook,  and  the  other  was 
somewhat  later.  There  was  the  beginning  of  a  settlement  at 
Wethersfield  in  1634,  a  settlement  at  Windsor  in  1635,  and 
later  in  that  year  the  founders  of  Hartford  brought  their 
weary  journey  through  the  wilderness  to  an  end.  Tins  colony 
— for  it  was  really  one,  the  three  grape-vines  united  in  one 
shield — antedated  that  at  New  Haven  by  some  four  }'ears.  It 
is  doing  no  injustice  to  those  who  made  these  settlements  to 
say  that  they  were  influenced  by  different  and  mingled 
motives.  Political  convictions,  religious  enthusiasm,  and  the 
hope  of  commercial  success,  all  doubtless  liad  much  to  do 


14  Saybroo/Ss  Qiiadri))iillcniaL 

with  the  settlements  at  Saybrook,  at  Hartford,  and  at  New 
Haven.  Yet,  if  one  may  make  tlie  distinction,  it  would  seem 
tliat  the  political  feeling  was  strongest  in  the  colony  to  the 
north  of  us,  that  the  religious  motive  was  most  prominent  in 
that  to  the  west,  while  here  at  the  mouth  of  tlie  river  there 
were  the  strongest  hopes  of  success  in  trade  and  commerce. 
The  early  appearance  of  the  three  settlements  must  also  have 
been  very  different ;  in  fact,  each  has  in  its  topography  to- 
day the  character  stamped  upon  it  by  those  who  laid  out  tiie 
lands  of  which  they  took  possession.  Hartford  was  laid  out 
along  the  line  of  a  broad  street,  which  served  as  the  backbone 
of  a  future  city,  and  where  another  principal  street  crossed 
it  was  the  place  of  the  meeting-house  for  both  religious  and 
political  purposes.  New  Haven  was  laid  out  as  a  great  square 
divided  into  nine  squares,  the  centremost  being  reserved  for 
the  public  buildings.  Saybrook  was  first  of  all  to  have  a  fort, 
or  fortified  place,  including  residences  and  other  necessary 
buildings;  and  then  evidently  there  was  to  be  a  large  plot  of 
land  laid  out  after  the  manner  of  a  city  but  so  as  to  be 
dependent  upon  the  fort  at  the  river's  mouth.  The  first  fort 
stood  further  back  from  the  water  than  that  the  remains  of 
which  were  razed  to  the  ground  about  fifteen  years  ago;  and, 
a  stockade  being  built  across  the  narrow  neck — then  nar- 
rower than  now — which  divides  the  coves  near  the  windmill 
lot,  the  whole  of  the  point  was  easily  defended  from  attacks 
by  land. 

In  the  spring  of  1636,  as  has  been  already  said,  Mr.  Fen- 
wick  visited  Saybrook,  being  the  only  one  of  the  grantees  or 
patentees  who  ever  crossed  the  ocean.  In  the  following 
summer  or  autumn  he  returned  to  England.* 

In  1636,  before  the  garrison,  now  amounting  to  about 
twenty  men,  had  been  many  months  at  the  fort,  the   Pequot 


*IIe  i}iobal)]y  eslahlislied  a  system  of  tolls,  or  protective  tariff,  on  goods 
carried  by  llie  fort  up  the  river.  Among  the  first  ships  to  sail  past  were  those 
which  carried  the  i^oods  of  Mr.  rynchon,  the  foiiiidor  of  Springfield. 


The  liisfory  of  I  lie  Early  Setllenieut.  i  5 

war  broke  out.  The  attack  on  tlie  natives  was  not  without 
provocation  ;  but  it  was  unadvisedly  and  hastily  undertaken, 
against  the  strong  advice  of  Lieut.  Gardiner,  and  it  certainly 
seems  to  have  been  cruelly  carried  on  at  the  last.  The 
settlers  at  Saybrook  were  in  great  danger,  and  some  were 
killed  after  they  had  been  tortured  by  the  savages.  The  war 
was  ended  in  1637. 

Meantime  we  hear  of  the  arrival  of  other  colonists,  two  of 
whom — Robert  Chapman  and  John  Clarke — are  represented 
here  to-da)^,  while  another — Capt.  John  Mason — made  himself 
a  name  famous  in  the  early  history  of  the  Commonwealth. 
After  an  absence  of  about  three  years,  Mr.  Fenwick  returned 
in  July,  1639.  bringing  with  him  his  wife,  Alice  Apsley, 
formerly  the  wife  of  Sir  John  Botcler,  from  whom  she  had 
by  courtesy  the  title  of  Lady.  With  them,  or  about  the 
same  time,  came  their  chaplain,  INLister  Thomas  Higginson, 
who  was  afterwards  pastor  at  Guilford  and  at  Salem,  Mass. 
No  church,  however,  was  organized  as  yet  in  Saybrook  ; 
Lady  Fenwick  was  admitted  a  member  of  the  church  in 
Hartford,  and  her  daughter  Elizabeth,  born  not  long  after 
her  arrival  here,  was  thereupon  baptized. 

Mr.  Fenwick,  as  the  only  one  of  the  patentees  in  the 
colony,  acted,  it  would  seem,  as  ex  officio  Governor.  In  the 
midst  of  many  discouragements,  he  cared  for  the  interests  of 
the  little  settlement  and  of  the  other  patentees ;  and  he  also 
united  with  the  representatives  of  the  other  colonies  in 
what  are  now  the  States  of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut, 
in  forming  the  confederation  of  the  United  Colonies  of  New 
England. 

The  independence  of  our  colony  lasted  about  ten  years. 
In  December,  1644,  an  agreement  was  made  between  Mr. 
Fenwick  and  the  General  Court  at  Hartford,  by  which  the 
former  ceded  to  the  other  government  the  fort  at  Saybrook,* 

*\Vliatever  tlie  value  of  Uiis  cession  or  grant  m  il\r  \\\\\<\  its  intcnlioii  ami 
effect  were  ratified  by  the  charter  of  if)6o. 


1 6  Saj'droo/cs   Ouadi'iiuillcnial. 

and  in  the  following  spring  he  was  elected  a  magistrate  of 
the  Connecticut  colony.  His  wife  died,  probably  in  1646, 
soon  after  the  birth  of  her  daughter  Dorothy ;  and  then,  dis- 
appointed and  discouraged,  and  thinking  that,  if  the  purposes 
of  the  colony  were  to  be  carried  out,  there  was  need  of  some 
further  efforts  in  England,  he  sailed  back  across  the  ocean. 
There  he  became  a  colonel  in  the  Parliamentary  army,  and 
was  elected  a  member  of  Cromwell's  Parliament,  though 
excluded  from  his  seat  because  he  was  not  satisfactory  to 
the  Protector.     He  died  in  1657. 

The  death  of  Lady  Fenwick  is  the  romantic  event  in  the 
history  of  our  town.  For  long  years  there  was  something 
touching  in  the  sight  of  the  massive  tombstone  standing 
alone  in  the  field  on  the  spot  where  the  first  settlers  had 
lived,  as  there  was  something  pathetic  in  the  story  of  which 
it  reminded  the  passer-by ;  and  the  reverent  care  with 
which,  when  her  dust  was  threatened  with  disturbance  by 
ruthless  hands,  it  was  laid  near  the  graves  of  seven  genera- 
tions of  those  who  came  after  her,  bears  witness  that  she  will 
not  be  soon  forgotten. 

"  And  ever  lliis  wave-washed  shore 

Shall  be  linked  with  her  tomb  and  fame, 
And  blend  wilh  the  wind  and  the  billowy  roar. 
The  music  of  her  name."* 

In  1647  the  first  fort,  within  the  enclosure  of  which  Lady 
Fenwick  was  buried,  was  destroyed  by  fire;  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  the  new  fort  was  built  close  to  the  river's  brink. 
Many  of  us  remember  the  earthwork,  far  older  than  anything 
else  of  the  same  kind  in  the  northern  part  of  the  United 
States,  which  formed  so  picturesque  a  feature  of  the  scenery 
until  it  had  to  give  way  to  structures  which  may  be  more 
useful  but  certainly  are  less  attractive. 

It  was  this  second  fort,   the  surrender  of  which  was  de- 

♦Frorn  a  poem  by  Miss  F.  M.  Caulkins. 


The  Histoj-y  of  (he  Early  Seftlevicid.  i  7 

nianded  by  Major  Andross  on  the  8th  of  July,  1675,  when 
Captain  Robert  Chapman  and  Captain  Bull  of  Hartford  so 
ingeniously  defended  the  rights  oi  the  colony ;  for  Major 
Andross  did  not  venture  to  fire  upon  the  royal  standard,  and 
either  did  not  dare  to  read  his  commission  or  could  not  make 
it  heard. 

But  before  this  time  Saybrook  had  sent  out  a  colony  to 
settle  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  where  two  beautiful 
rivers,  uniting  to  form  the  Thames,  offer  a  site  for  a  city  than 
which  it  is  not  easy  to  imagine  one  more  attractive.  The 
outgoing  colony  was  led  by  the  Rev.  James  Fitch,  who  had 
succeeded  the  Rev.  Thomas  Peters  in  the  pastorate  of  the 
church  at  Saybrook.  With  him  he  took  a  larger  part  of  his 
people,  attracted,  we  are  told,  by  the  report  of  the  fair  tract 
of  nine  miles  square  which  the  f^\ithful  Uncas  had  granted 
them  in  remembrance  of  the  kindness  of  a  Saybrook  man 
who  had  relieved  his  people  when  hard  pressed  by  siege  and 
hunger.  Thus  many  names  which  occur  in  the  early  records 
of  Saybrook  are  lost  from  its  history  and  appear  in  the  annals 
of  Norwich,  its  oldest  and  fairest  daughter. 

After  a  few  years  Mr.  Fitch  was  succeeded  here  by  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Buckingham,  whose  pastorate  extended  into 
the  eighteenth  century  and  covered  the  important  period 
marked  by  the  foundation  of  the  Collegiate  School  and  the 
meeting  of  the  assembly  which  drew  up  the  Saybrook  Plat- 
form. 

It  is  not  easy  for  us  to  draw  a  picture  of  Saybrook  at  the 
close  of  the  century,  after  sixty-five  years  of  its  history  had 
passed.  The  town  had  spread  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
stockade  which  had  protected  the  first  settlement  from 
attacks  by  land.  A  road  doubtless  led  along  the  coast — it 
was  the  old  post-road  to  New  Haven;  and  houses  were  built 
on  this  road,  not  only  on  this  side  of  Oyster  River,  but  also 
beyond  it.  As  early  as  1660  there  were  settlers  in  Pochaug, 
afterwards  called  West  Saybrook  and  Westbrook.  Another 
road  must  have  led  to  the  north,  branching  off  on  the  right 


1 8  Sayl'roo/cs   Ouadriniillcnial. 

to  tlie  fcrrying-place  and  on  the  left,  skirting  the  great 
swamp  and  passing  through  the  northern  part  of  the  town 
to  Iladdam  and  thence  to  Hartford.  The  burying-ground 
had  been  early  laid  out  at  the  foot  of  the  present  cemetery ; 
I  am  inclined  to  doubt  whether  it  was  ever  an  Indian  burial- 
place.  In  front  of  it  ran  the  road  from  the  fort,  past  the 
house  and  lot  which  were  afterwards  given  by  Mr.  Nathaniel 
Lynde  for  the  use  of  the  college ;  and  another  road,  also  still 
in  use,  completed  the  circuit  of  the  Point.  On  the  cross- 
road, not  far  from  the  site  of  the  present  school-house, 
stood  the  meeting-house,  finished  in  1680  or  1681,  the 
second  edifice  erected  for  the  worship  of  God.  Two  other 
streets  ran  across  this  from  north  to  south,  dividing  the  land 
into  six  city-like  plots.  The  houses  were  not  inhabited  by 
the  "persons  of  quality  "  who  had  been  expected  from  Eng- 
land or  by  their  descendants;  but  a  census  taken  at  that  time 
would  have  contained  many  names  which  are  represented  in 
this  village  and  in  other  parts  of  the  old  town  to-day;  a  few 
of  them  we  can  find  on  the  roll  of  civil  dignitaries.  The 
town  had  had  its  own  governor  for  a  few  years;  but  it 
had  furnished  no  governor  for  the  colony  of  Connecticut 
after  it  became  merged  in  its  jurisdiction.  To  the  House  of 
"  Assistants,"  the  upper  house  of  the  General  Assembl}', 
elected  by  general  vote,  it  had  sent  only  George  Fenwlck 
(1644-1649)  and  Robert  Chapman  (1681-1685);  the  repre- 
sentatives elected  for  the  town  had  borne  the  names  of 
Chapman,  Bushnell,  Pratt,  Parker,  Lay,  Dudley,  Post,  Lynde, 
Clark,  and  Whittlesey.  When  in  1704  the  General  Assem- 
bly, for  the  sake  of  confirming  the  title  to  the  real  estate 
within  the  town,  granted  a  formal  charter  of  incorporation, 
the  document  contained  the  names  of  Buckingham,  Chap- 
man, Pratt,  Clark,  Parker,  Lay,  and  Sandford.  We  have  the 
names  of  but  three  Town  Clerks  before  1700 — Messrs.  Tully, 
Willard,  and  Pratt.  To  the  north  of  the  settlement  lay  the 
common  fields — that  most  interesting  "  survival "  of  an 
ancient  custom  in  regard  to  the  tenure  of  land,  for  the  lay- 


The  History  of  t lie  Early  ScU lenient.  19 

out  and  division  of  which  provision  was  made  by  the  town 
within  fifteen  years  after  its  first  settlement.  There  must  have 
been  aheady  a  settlement  in  Pettipaug  at  what  we  call 
Centre  Brook,  and  probably  one  at  Pattaconk  or  Chester. 
But  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  was  to  pass  before  a  second 
ecclesiastical  society  should  be  organized,  and  nearly  a  century 
and  a  half  before  the  ancient  town  should  be  cut  into  pieces. 
The  country  across  the  river  had  been  for  a  short  time  called 
East  Saybrook,  but  its  connection  with  the  civil  or  eccles- 
iastical administration  of  the  town  can  have  been  hardly 
more  than  nominal. 

It  docs  not  fall  to  my  lot  to  dwell  upon  the  important 
events  in  the  later  history  of  the  town.  One  best  qualified 
to  do  so  will  speak  of  the  early  annals  of  the  Collegiate 
School,  in  regard  to  which  we  affirm  most  emphatically  that  in 
Saybrook  and  in  Saybrook  alone  was  its  legal  home  and  the 
place  where  its  degrees  were  conferred  until  it  was  removed 
to  New  Haven,  where  under  an  honored  name  it  has  been 
for  many  years,  and  will  be,  we  trust,  for  many  more,  the 
home  of  sound  learning  under  the  always  recognized  guid- 
ance of  Christian  principle.  I  may  note,  however,  that  of  the 
fifty-five  who  received  their  first  degree  here,  ^en  were  young 
men  of  Saybrook,  bearing  the  names  of  Whittlesey,  Chapman, 
Lynde,  Taylor,  Tousey,  Blague,  Buckingham,  Clarke,  Lord, 
and  Willard.  The  history  and  significance  of  the  important 
Synod  of  1708  will  be  described  by  one  who  can  tell  us  of 
the  influence  of  the  Saybrook  Platform  in  moulding  the 
ecclesiastical  constitution  of  the  Standing  Order — the  Estab- 
lished Church — of  this  Commonwealth,  and  how  its  influence 
has  extended  beyond  our  own  borders. 

The  later  history  of  the  ecclesiastical  organization  within  the 
town  will  not,  I  trust,  be  passed  by  ;  when  under  the  guid- 
ance of  Mr.  Buckingham,  and  after  him,  of  JNIr.  Mather  and 
Mr.  Hart  and  Mr.  Hotchkiss — the  pastorates  of  these  three 
men  extending  over  a  hundred  and  thirty-four  years — the 
people  of  Saybrook  were  instructed  in  the  faith  and  fear  of 


20  Sayl>roo/cs  Qiiadrimillciiial. 

God.  Nor  ought  we  to  forget  the  growth  of  settlements  in 
parts  of  the  town  remote  from  the  site  of  the  ancient  fort, 
and  the  progress  of  all  in  trade  and  commerce,  in  agriculture 
and  fisheries,  and  their  advance  in  education  and  religion. 
And,  turning  from  the  pleasant  thoughts  of  quiet  rural  life 
and  of  successful  labors  on  land  and  sea,  we  ought  not  to 
forget  what  Saybrook  men  have  done  for  the  defence  of  their 
country  in  the  times  of  her  need ;  we  may  be  proud  to 
remember  that  a  Saybrook  captain  was  with  Washington  at 
Valley  Forge,  and  that  he  kept  his  soldiers  shod  by  selling 
his  land  here  at  home,  even  if  we  are  ashamed  at  having  to 
confess  that  he  received  on  earth  no  reward  for  his  self- 
denial. 

But  it  is  for  me  to  do  no  more  than  point  out  the  way  in 
which  we  may  study  the  history  of  our  ancient  town,  to 
preface  what  others  will  say  at  length,  and  to  point  out  a 
part  of  what  we  may  expect  when  our  history  shall  be  fully 
and  carefully  written. 

"Saybrook,"  said  "A  Gentleman  of  the  Province,"  writing 
the  history  of  Connecticut  in  1781,  "is  greatly  fallen  from  its 
ancient  grandeur;  but  is,  notwithstanding,  resorted  to  with 
great  veneration,  as  the  parent  town  of  the  whole  colony." 
If  we  lost  our  grandeur  in  the  first  hundred  and  fifty  years, 
I  am  afraid  that  a  part  at  least  of  the  veneration  has  been 
lost  in  the  century  which  has  passed  since  Dr.  Peters  wrote. 
But  we  at  least,  who  have  known  Saybrook  best,  have  never 
failed  to  hold  her  in  reverence,  to  recognize  how  much  we 
owe  to  her,  and  to  pray  in  the  devout  words  of  the  great 
king,  who  looked  back  from  the  splendor  of  the  newly  estab- 
lished kingdom  and  the  newly  finished  temple  to  see  in  the 
earlier  history  of  Israel  the  pattern  on  which  he  would  have 
its  later  history  framed :  "The  Lord  our  God  be  with  us, 
as  He  was  with  our  fathers." 


Ya/c  College  at  Savl)roo/c.  21 

The  Chairman  then  introduced  the  Rev.  NoAH  PoRTEK, 
D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  President  of  Yale  College,  New  Haven,  who 
spoke  of  the  history  of 

"YALE    COLLEGE    AT    SAYBROOK." 

The  story  of  Yale  College  is  one  that  is  not  very  agreeable 
to  the  minds  of  the  natives  of  Saybrook  and  their  descend- 
ants, and  for  that  reason  I  shall  be  excused  if  I  make  the 
recital  of  it  brief.  The  story,  as  I  shall  give  it,  I  have  gathered 
rather  than  gleaned  from  the  complete  history  of  the  fiist 
half  century  or  forty-five  years  of  the  life  of  Yale  College,  by 
my  associate,  Professor  Dexter,  who  is  here  on  hand  to  cor- 
rect me  if  I  shall  make  any  mistakes.  I  say  I  have  gathered 
rather  than  gleaned  what  I  shall  tell  you,  for  he  has  told  the 
story  so  fully  that  there  is  nothing  left  to  glean  after  him.  I 
hope  I  shall  make  no  mistakes.  What  I  shall  present  is 
simply  a  little  bouquet  culled  from  the  abundant  sheaf  which 
you  will  find  in  what  he  has  wiitten  of  the  first  half  century 
of  the  life  of  Yale  College. 

The  founding  of  Yale  College  was  not  an  afterthought  to 
the  original  colonists,  since  it  may  be  traced. back  with  a 
certain  degree  of  confidence  to  the  leaders  of  the  New  Haven 
colony,  among  whom  John  Davenport  was  conspicuous;  and 
probably  we  may,  without  any  mistake,  aver  that  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Hopkins  Grammar  School  in  New  Haven,  which 
is  nearly  if  not  quite  the  first  endowed  school  of  the  sort  in 
New  England,  was  designed  to  be  preparatory  to  the  founda- 
tion of  another  institution  of  a  higher  character.  It  is  true 
in  fact  that  a  little  before  the  beginning  of  the  last  century 
there  was  a  movement  in  Connecticut  toward  the  establish- 
ment of  a  college,  in  which  were  conspicuous  five  clergj- 
men  whose  parishes  were  all  on  the  coast  from  New  Haven 
to  Stratford.  These  clergymen  counselled  freely  with  certain 
Massachusetts  gentlemen,  probably  for  the  purpose  of  as- 
certaining what  was  the  best  method  to  secure  a  trustworthy 


2  2  Saybrook's  Quacirimillenial. 

act  of  incorporation  or  or<^anization.  Very  soon  after,  as  we 
know,  there  was  a  meeting  of  seven  clergymen,  as  it  is 
supposed,  in  Branford,  each  of  whom,  as  the  tradition  goes 
and  we  trust  the  tradition  in  this  case,  made  a  gift  of  books, 
saying:  "With  these  books  I  lay  the  foundation  of  a  college 
in  this  colony."  By  their  deed  of  gift  these  persons  invested 
something  in  the  enterprise,  and  thereby  qualified  themselves 
to  appear  as  petitioners  for  the  assurance  of  certain  corpor- 
ate rights.  In  response  to  their  petition  a  charter  was 
obtained,  sometimes  called  the  old  charter  of  Yale  College, 
and  on  the  iith  of  November,  1701,  seven  of  the  trustees 
who  were  constituted  by  this  act  a  corporate  body,  met  at 
Say  brook,  and,  as  I  was  informed  by  my  mentor,  Professor 
Dexter,  on  the  cars  this  morning,  the  organization  of  Yale 
College  took  place  at  Saybrook  one  hundred  and  eighty-four 
}cars  ago,  the  22d  of  this  month.  It  appears,  therefore,  that 
you  came  very  near  celebrating  the  founding  of  Yale  College 
by  the  celebration  which  you  are  now  enacting  in  the  ancient 
town  of  Saybrook.  The  fact  cannot  be  questioned  that 
Yale  College  was  founded  under  its  charter  in  Saybrook  one 
hundred  and  eighty- four  years  ago.  You  can  make  as  little 
or  as  much  of  this  as  you  choose.  Saybrook  is  not  only  the 
place  in  which  Yale  College  has  spent  sixteen  years  of  its  ex- 
istence, but  it  is  the  place  where  it  began  its  corporate  life. 

Now,  why  was  Sajbrook  selected  ?  That  is  a  question 
which  comes  home  to  the  heart  of  every  descendant.  Why 
was  Sayb/ook  selected  as  the  pUice  for  the  organization  of  this 
institution  and  for  the  beginning  of  its  operations  ?  Of  course 
I  am  trying  to  tell  an  honest  story.  I  cannot  say  with  truth 
that  it  was  because  Saybrook  was  a  fortified  city  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Connecticut.  I  think  it  was  in  part  accidental, 
and  can  be,  perhaps,  more  or  less  satisfactorily  explained.  In 
the  first  place,  you  may  say  that  it  may  be  supposed  that 
possibly  the  pastor  of  the  church  in  Saybrook  may  have  had 
some  influence  in  locating  the  college  here.  Perhaps  it  was 
because  the  place  was  thought  very  ea.sy  of  access,  by  the 


}\i/c   Co//i'o'c  at  Say  brook.  23 

river  from  the  north  and  by  the  shore  from  the  east  and  the 
west.  Perhaps  it  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  future  rect(^r 
had  probably  been  fixed  on,  who  hvetl  \'ery  near  to  this 
place,  since  the  trustees  would  hardly  have  dared  to  appoint 
the  place  of  meeting  at  Killingworth  or  Kenilworth,  now 
Clinton,  if  they  had  fixed  their  e}'es  upon  Dr.  Pierson  as  the 
first  rector.  It  may  be,  also,  that  some  who  were  active  behind 
the  scenes  thought  that  it  would  not  do  to  designate  New 
Haven  as  the  place,  lest  they  might  awaken  the  somewhat 
sensitive  feelings  of  the  people  at  Wethersfield  or  Hartford. 
As  between  the  claims  of  all  these  rivals,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  Saybrook  was  selected  and  the  college  was  located,  for 
the  time  at  least,  under  the  shadow  of  your  fort,  and  possibly 
as  its  permanent  abiding-place.  At  all  events  wc  know  that, 
having  a  rector  in  their  minds  who  resided  in  a  neighboring 
parish,  the  trustees  encamped  in  Saybrook  waiting  for  future 
developments — and  liere  the  institution  began.  It  deserves 
to  be  remembered  in  honor  of  Mr.  Nathaniel  Lynde,  that  he 
gave  a  lot  for  the  use  of  the  institution  as  long  as  it  should 
remain  in  Saybrook;  and  the  lot  was  used  till  the  institution 
left  tlie  town,  and  then  it  very  properly  reverted  to  its 
donor. 

The  first  commencement  was  held  here  in  1702.  Though 
the  college  as  yet  had  no  pupils  or  actual  stutlents,  they  held 
session  for  conferring  degrees,  and  they  gave  degrees  to  five 
persons  who  were  previously  graduates  of  Harvard  College. 
Keep  in  mind,  if  you  please,  that  the  institution  commenced 
its  operations  by  giving  degrees,  and  this  function  seems  to 
have  been  recognized  as  of  considerable  importance.  Tlie 
institution  was  operated  somewhat  after  the  fashion  of  the 
universities  of  the  old  country,  as  examining  bodies,  bodies 
qualified  to  confer  degrees.  Whatever  the  fact  might  signify, 
the  fact  is  unquestioned  that  degrees  were  given  to  these 
five  persons  in  1702.  In  1703  the  first  graduate  who  was 
instructed  here  received  the  honors  of  the  institution,  and  at 
the  same  time  ]\Ir.    Daniel   Hooker,   a  son  of  Rev.   Samuel 


^4  Saybrook's   Oiiadrimillcnial. 

Hooker  at  Farmington,  was  appointed  tutor;  with  him  the 
work  of  instruction  began.  I  have  had  the  satisfaction  of 
discovering  that  the  first  tutor  of  Yale  in  Saybrook,  and 
\'alc's  first  graduate  student  were  from  my  native  town.  The 
name  of  the  student  was  John  Hart,  and  he  came  here  at  the 
beginning  of  what  we  call  the  junior  year  and  graduated  in 
1703,  so  that  the  first  instructor  and  the  first  graduate  came 
from  Farmington.  This  Rev.  John  Hart  was  afterwards 
settled  in  East  Guilford,  and  filled  an  honorable  pastorate 
there,  dying  among  his  people. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  significance  of  Rector  Pierson's  resi- 
dence in  Killingworth  in  determining  Saybrook  as  th.e  first 
site  of  the  institution.  Let  me  observe,  however,  that  at  the 
meeting  respecting  the  location,  the  first  vote  which  they 
passed  on  the  subject  was  this  :  "  That  the  college  should 
be  no  further  east  than  Saybrook,  nor  further  west  than 
New  Haven."  From  which  it  appears  that  from  the  begin- 
ning the  trustees  did  not  comnlit  themselves  to  Saybrook  as 
the  final  resting-place  of  the  college. 

Rector  Pierson  must  have  been  a  man  of  great  force  of 
character  and  of  an  ardent  temper.  He  was  inaugurated 
as  rector  here,  but  he  never  resided  in  Saybrook ;  although 
a  house- lot  was  provided  for  his  occupation,  the  house 
was  never  built.  He  gave  instruction  only  to  the  members 
of  the  senior  class  in  his  own  parish,  the  rest  of  the  in- 
struction being  given  by  tutors  in  Saybrook.  His  people, 
as  you  may  imagine,  were  all  the  while  in  a  state  of  dis- 
comfort, being  disturbed  by  the  claims  of  the  college  and  of 
the  Saybrook  community,  lest  they  should  lose  him  sooner 
or  later.  For  that  reason  alone  the  interests  of  the  institution 
must  have  suffered  till  his  death,  in  1707.  He  was  an  ardent 
student,  who  had  mastered  the  physics  of  his  day,  such  as 
they  were,  and  the  system  of  philosophy  which  he  imparted, 
as  we  find  it  in  a  manuscript  volume  now  in  existence, 
marks  somewhat  definitely  the  transition  period  from  the 
old-fashioned   plnsics  of  Descartes  to  the  physics  of  lioyle 


Yale  College  at  Say  brook.  25 

and  of  Newton.  For  very  many  reasons  he  was  a  man 
who  deserves  to  be  lionored  in  the  memory  of  all  the  loyal 
sons  of  Yale. 

Probably  the  course  of  study  which  was  followed  in  the 
institution  would  compare  very  favorably  with  the  course  of 
instruction  which  is  adopted  at  present  in  the  secondary  in- 
stitutions of  this  country.  The  students  recited  in  Virgil  and 
Cicero  and  the  Greek  Testament,  very  superficially  doubtless. 
They  were  also  drilled  in  scholastic  logic,  and  were  un- 
doubtedly held  diligently  to  their  work.  We  ought  not  to 
estimate  the  value  of  the  education  which  they  received  by 
the  text-books  which  they  studied,  but  by  the  mental  effort 
which  they  bestowed  upon  them.  It  is  not  the  breadth  of 
the  field,  but  the  thoroughness  with  which  it  is  covered, 
that  is  important.  We  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the 
early  students  of  Yale  were  either  idle  or  superficial. 

As  we  pass  on  to  17 10,  Elihu  Yale  appears  on  the  scene, 
a  native  of  New  Haven,  subsequently  president  of  the  since 
famous  East  India  Company,  who  retired  to  Wrexham  in 
Wales,  where  he  died  very  rich. 

Not  long  after,  in  the  year  17 14,  very  considerable  contri- 
butions of  books  were  received  at  one  time  and  deposited  in 
Saybrook — seven  hundred  volumes  contributed  by  eminent 
writers,  philosophers,  and  others  in  England,  collected  by  the 
zeal  and  assiduity  of  Mr.  Jeremiah  Dummer,  agent  of  the 
colony  in  England. 

In  1 7 16  the  last  commencement  was  held  at  Saybrook, 
and  it  happened  in  this  way.  Undoubtedly  the  older  men 
of  the  board  of  trustees  had  been  considering  the  question, 
.whether  it  were  not  wise  to  remove  the  institution  westward. 
As  a  first  step  they  went  so  far  as  to  vote,  five  to  two,  that 
if  the  institution  were  to  be  removed  at  all  it  should  go 
to  New  Haven.  It  was  also  determined  that  before  the 
question  should  be  decided  whether  the  institution  was  to 
be  removed  or  not,  it  would  be  convenient  to  know  which 
of  the  three  places  named  would  raise  the  largest  sum  of 


26  SaybrooJSs  Qitadrimillefual. 

money.  The  people  in  Saybrook  raised  ;^r,400,  the  people 
of  New  Haven  ;^2,ooo,  while  the  wealthy  city  of  Hartford 
raised  nothing  to  speak  of;  either  relying  upon  some  other 
instrumentality  as  the  means  of  securing  the  college,  or 
giving  the  whole  matter  up  in  despair.  An  adjourned  meet- 
ing of  the  trustees  was  held  in  New  Haven,  October  17,  to 
decide  this  question,  and,  to  their  credit,  they  discussed  the 
question  for  a  week  although  they  were  seven  in  number. 
Arguments  were  urged  on  both  sides.  The  reasons  urged  for 
removing  to  New  Haven  were,  that  taking  into  account  the 
population  to  the  west  in  what  were  then  called  the  govern- 
ments of  New  Jersey  and  New  York,  New  Haven  was  more 
central  and  would  attract  more  students;  and  again  that  New 
Haven  would  give  the  most  money  and  would  zealously 
support  the  college.  No  other  reasons  than  these  were  given 
and  no  other  reasons  appear  on  the  page  of  history.  After 
the  deliberation  of  seven  days  it  was  decided  finally,  five  to 
two,  that  the  college  should  go  to  New  Haven,  the  two  dis- 
sentients being  residents  of  Hartford  and  Wethersfield.  Then 
ensued  a  two  years'  succession  of  movements  and  counter- 
movements  in  order  to  secure  it  elsewhere  ;  but  the  trustees 
held  fast  to  their  original  decision.  The  question  was  decided 
in  fact  by  holding  a  Commencement  at  New  Haven,  and  by 
the  general  acquiescence  of  the  public  mind,  and  above  all  by 
a  small  appropriation  of  money  from  the  State.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  procedure  of  the  trustees  to  erect  a  building, 
which  it  was  rightly  reasoned  would  tend  to  fix  the  institution 
in  its  place.  So  it  came  to  New  Haven  and  there  it  has 
remained. 

Let  me  say,  however,  that  after  this  decision  was  reached, 
for  two  or  three  years  a  large  number  of  its  students  were 
instructed  in  other  parts  of  the  State — in  Wethersfield,  in 
Hartford,  and  in  Saybrook ;  even  after  the  institution  had 
been  fixed  in  New  Haven  by  the  vote  of  the  trustees,  more 
than  half  the  students  were  instructed  elsewhere  and  carfie  to 
New  Haven  only  to  receive  their  degrees.     So  stiff  were  our 


The  Saybrook  Platfonn.  27 

fathers  for  local  rights,  so  tenacious  were  they  of  every  ex- 
pedient by  which  they  could  promote  their  individual  or 
their  local  interests. 

This  is  the  history  of  Yale  College  in  Saybrook.  It  may 
be  said,  to  the  honor  of  Saybrook,  that  the  institution  had 
acquired  some  fixed  habits  of  life  under  the  fostering  care  of 
its  early  nurse,  and  also  that  it  will  ever  be  remembered  that 
it  was  the  seed-plot  for  what  has  now  become  a  great 
tree,  in  the  shadow  of  whose  branches  the  nations  rejoice. 
Whatever  there  may  have  been  in  the  way  of  uncomfortable 
associations  in  connection  with  this  history,  I  have  endeavored 
to  dispel  by  reciting  the  plain  story  of  its  removal.  As  our 
fathers  would  have  said,  there  were  manifest  indications  of 
Divine  Providence  that  it  was  better  for  the  institution  that 
its  site  should  be  changed.  On  the  other  hand,  never  should 
the  college  forget,  never  should  its  friends  cease  to  remem- 
ber, that  this  pleasant  village  was  the  seed-place  and  the 
nursery-house  in  which  this  noble  tree  struck  its  first  roots 
and  began  its  glorious  growth. 

The  Rev.  Lewellyn  Pratt,  D.  D.,  Professor  in  the 
Hartford  Theological  Seminary,  a  native  of  the  old  town  of 
Saybrook,  then  made  an  address  on 

"THE    SAYBROOK   PLATFORM." 

My  task  to-day  is  to  give  the  story  of  the  Saybrook  Plat- 
form. I  shall  not  attempt  to  enter  into  an  extended  discussion 
of  its  merits  as  a  Congregational  document — this  is  not  the 
time  or  place  for  that.  I  shall  aim  simply  to  make  clear 
what  the  Saybrook  Platform  was. 

Saybrook  seems  to  have  been  in  early  times  a  kind  of 
ecclesiastical  centre  for  Connecticut;  probably  because  it 
was  more  easy  of  access  than  other  places,  possibly  because 
of  the  rivalry  between  Hartford  and  New  Haven,  and  then 
later  because  it  was  the  seat  of  the  college. 

In   1668  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  authorizing  four 


28  SaybrooJcs  Ouadrimillenial. 

distinguished  ministers — the  Revs.  James  Fitch  of  Norwich, 
Gcrshom  Bulkley  of  VVethersfield,  Jared  EHot  of  Guilford, 
and  Samuel  Wakeman  of  Fairfield — one  from  each  county  of 
the  Colony,  to  meet  at  Saybrook,  and  devise  some  general 
plan  of  church  government  and  discipline  under  which  the 
churches  of  Connecticut  might  be  united. 

Again,  in  1703,  in  response  to  a  circular  issued  by  the 
trustees  of  the  College,  the  churches  and  their  ministers  were 
convened,  and  gave  their  consent  to  the  Westminister  and 
Savoy  Confessions  and  drew  up  certain  rules  of  ecclesiastical 
union  in  discipline.  It  seems  probable  that  this  body  met 
at  Saybrook,  the  seat  of  the  College.  So  the  council  that 
framed  the  Saybrook  Platform  was,  perhaps,  the  third  con- 
vocation at  Saybrook  for  devising  an  ecclesiastical  code  for 
Connecticut. 

That  council  met  in  this  place  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
seven  years  ago;  that  is,  in  1708,  on  the  9th,  or  in  our 
reckoning,  on  the  20th  day  of  September.  It  was  composed 
of  sixteen  members,  twelve  ministers  and  four  lay  delegates. 
They  came  together  at  the  time  of  the  Commencement  of 
the  Collegiate  School,  since  known  as  Yale  College ;  eight  or 
nine  of  the  members  being  at  the  time  trustees  of  the 
College. 

The  members  of  the  Council  were: — 

From  Hartford  County:  Rev.  Timothy  Woodbridge, 
pastor  of  the  first  church,  Hartford;  Rev.  Noadiah  Russell, 
pastor  of  the  first  church,  Middletown ;  Rev.  Stephen  Mix, 
pastor  of  the  church  in  Wethersfield,  and  messenger,  John 
Haynes  of  Hartford. 

From  Fairfield  County:  Rev.  Charles  Chauncey,  pastor 
of  the  Stratfield  church,  now  the  first  church,  Bridgeport; 
Rev.  John  Davenport,  pastor  of  the  church  in  Stamford,  and 
messenger.  Deacon  Samuel  Hart  of  Stamford. 

From  New  London  County':  Rev.  James  Noyes,  pastor 
of  the  first  church,  Stonington ;  Rev,  Thomas  Buckingham, 
pastor  of  the  first  church,  Saybrook;    Rev.   Moses  Noyes, 


The  Say  brook  Platforni.  29 

pastor  of  the  first  church,  Lyme;  Rev.  John  Woodward, 
pastor  of  the  first  church,  Norwich,  and  messengers,  Robert 
Chapman  of  Saybrook,  and  Deacon  Wilham  Parker, 

From  New  Haven  County:  Rev.  Samuel  Andrew,  pastor 
of  the  church  in  Milford  ;  Rev.  James  Pierpont,  pastor  of  tlie 
first  church.  New  Haven  ;  Rev.  Samuel  Russell,  pastor  of 
the  church  in  Branford. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  dwell  upon  the  characteristics  of 
some  of  these  men,  who  met  here  for  the  purpose  of  defining 
the  government  of  the  Colony  religiously.  The  moderators 
were:  (i)  James  Noyes  of  Stonington,  a  venerated  father, 
then  in  his  69th  year,  an  alumnus  of  Harvard  College,  and 
son  of  one  of  the  distinguished  men  of  Massachusetts  ;  and 
(2)  Thomas  Buckingham  of  Saybrook,  first  pastor  of  the 
revived  church  after  the  removal  of  the  major  part  to  Nor- 
wich with  the  former  pastor,  Mr.  Fitch.  Of  minister  Buck- 
ingham we  shall  hear  from  a  worthy  descendant  to-day. 

Samuel  Andrew,  the  member  from  Milford,  was  then 
acting  rector  or  president  of  the  college. 

There  was  also  Timothy  Woodbridge  of  Hartford,  one  of 
the  original  "  trustees  or  undertakers,"  appointed  by  the 
Legislature  "to  found,  erect  and  govern  the  college,"  one 
who  strove  most  vigorously  against  the  removal  of  the 
college  to  New  Haven,  the  same  Mr.  Woodbridge  whom 
President  Clap  sarcastically  describes  as  presiding  over 
"something  like>a  Commencement"  at  Wethersfield  in  17 18. 

There  was  James  Pierpont  of  New  Haven,  to  whom  the 
original  draft  of  the  Platform  is  attributed,  whose  pubhc 
spirit  and  eminent  gifts  had  made  him  conspicuous  in  the 
Colony.  It  was  out  of  his  consultations  with  his  two  ne.xt 
neighbors  in  the  ministry — Andrew  of  Milford  and  Russell 
of  Branford — that  the  movement  came  which  resullcti  in  the 
founding  of  the  college.  His  daughter  was  the  wife  of  the 
great  theologian  Jonathan  Edwards,  and  among  his  descend- 
ants are  to  be  found  the  younger  President  Kdwards,  Presi- 
dent D wight,  President  Woolsey. 


30  Saybroo/cs  Quadrimillenial. 

The  Charles  Chauncey  of  Stratfield  was  grandson  of 
President  Chauncey  of  Harvard  College.  John  Davenport  of 
Stamford  was  grandson  of  the  John  Davenport,  first  pastor  in 
New  Haven;  and  among  the  lay  delegates  were  John  Haynes 
of  Hartford,  who  was  son  of  the  second  pastor  in  Hart- 
ford and  grandson  of  the  first  Governor  of  Hartford  Colony, 
himself  prominent  in  civil  life  as  judge  and  "assistant"  in  the 
Connecticut  Colony  ;  and  another  layman,  Robert  Chapman 
of  Saybrook,  who  for  many  years  represented  this  town  in 
the  Legislature  and  whose  descendants  are  with  us  to-day. 

These  men  were  "picked  men,"  worthy  as  any  then  living 
in  the  Colony,  to  represent  the  churches  and  the  State  in 
council. 

We  are  to  imagine  these  men,  most  of  them,  as  coming 
long  journeys,  with  solemn  purpose  intent,  not  as  we  have 
come,  by  easy  transport  on  the  Shore  Line  or  Connecticut 
Valley  railroads,  not  even  in  carriages — for  it  was  not  till 
after  the  middle  of  that  century  that  wheeled  vehicles  were 
used — but  on  horseback  through  the  wilderness,  some  of 
them  requiring  two  days  at  least  for  the  journey.  They 
probably  met  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Buckingham,  or,  possibly, 
in  the  house  given  to  the  college  by  Nathaniel  Lynde,  the 
deed  of  which  (although  the  offer  of  the  house  was  made 
six  years  before)  was  executed  on  the  very  day  the  council 
met,  September  9th,  1708. 

There  were  at  that  time  forty-one  Congregational  churches 
— counting  the  one  at  Rye — in  the  four  counties  of  Connec- 
ticut Colony.  There  were  no  other  churches  in  the  Colony 
but  these,  except  one  Baptist  church  in  Groton,  and  one 
Episcopal  church  in  Stratford,  both  formed  the  year  before. 
The  first  Presbyterian  church  in  the  State  was  formed  in 
1723,  and  the  first  Methodist  church  not  till  1789. 

Tiiese  men  then  were  the  representatives  practically  of  all 
the  churches  of  the  Colony.  It  was  natural  that  it  should  be 
arranged  that  they  should  meet  at  the  time  of  the  College 
Commencement,   for  thq    trustees    of   the   College  were  all 


The  Saybrook  Plat  form.  31 

ministers,  and  were  the  only  body  of  ministers  of  the  scat- 
tered churches  that  were  brought  together  statedly  by  public 
duties.  These  men  had  been  regularly  chosen  by  county 
conventions  of  the  churches  held  in  June  of  that  year  ;  so 
that,  as  Dr.  G.  L.  Walker  puts  it  in  the  "History  of  the  First 
Church  of  Hartford,"  "  there  seems  no  valid  reason  for  the 
suggestion,  which  has  been  made,  that  the  body  convened  at 
Saybrook  in  September,  1708,  was  not  a  perfectly  fair  and 
fully  representative  body  of  the  forty-one  churches  of  Con- 
necticut." 

This  Council  of  sixteen  members  was  convened  by  an  order 
from  the  General  Court  or  Legislature  of  the  Colony.  Such 
an  order  was  in  accordance  with  the  ideas  then  prevalent 
and  with  all  the  precedents  of  New  England. 

That  order,  adopted  at  the  May  session  of  the  Legislature 
in  1708,  read  :  "This  Assembly,  from  their  own  observation 
and  the  complaint  of  many  others,  being  made  sensible  of 
the  defects  of  discipline  in  the  churches  of  this  government, 
arising  from  the  want  of  more  explicit  asserting  of  the  rules 
given  for  that  end  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  from  which  would 
arise  a  permanent  establishment  among  ourselves,  a  good 
and  regular  issue  in  cases  subject  to  ecclesiastical  discipline, 
glory  to  Christ  our  Head,  and  edification  to  his  members, 
hath  seen  fit  to  ordain  and  require,  and  it  is  by  the  authority 
of  the  same  ordained  and  required,  that  the  ministers  of  the 
several  counties  in  this  government  shall  meet  together,  at 
their  respective  county  towns,  with  such  messengers  as  the 
churches  to  which  they  belong  shall  see  cause  to  sentl  with 
them,  on  the  last  Monday  in  June  next,  there  to  consider 
and  agree  upon  those  methods  and  rules  for  the  management 
of  ecclesiastical  discipline,  which  by  them  shall  be  judged 
agreeable  and  conformable  to  the  word  of  God,  and  shall,  at 
the  same  meeting,  appoint  two  or  more  of  their  number  to 
be  their  delegates,  who  shall  ,all  meet  together  at  Saybrook 
at  the  next  commencement  to  be  held  there,  where  they 
shall    compare    the   results   of  the   ministers   of  the   several 


32  SaybrooJSs  Quadriuiillcnial. 

counties,  and  of  and  from  them  to  draw  a  form  of  ecclesias- 
tical discipline,  which  by  two  or  more  persons  delegated  by 
them,  shall  be  offered  to  this  Court,  at  their  session  at  New 
Haven  in  October  next,  to  be  considered  of  and  affirmed  by 
them  ;  and  the  expense  of  the  above  mentioned  meetings 
shall  be  defrayed  out  of  the  public  treasury  of  this  Colony." 

The  Legislature  thus  both  convened  the  Synod  or  Council 
and  prescribed  its  duties. 

No  record  has  come  down  to  us  giving  account  of  the 
number  of  days  spent  in  consultation  or  the  details  of  the 
discussions;  we  know  the  result  from  the  report  that  was 
made  to  the  Legislature.  That  embraced  a  "  Confession  of 
Faith,"  "Heads  of  Agreement,"  and  "Articles  for  Adminis- 
tration of  Church   Discipline." 

In  order  to  understand  the  result  of  this  Council — the 
Saybrook  Platform — it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  this 
Council  was  not  called  to  settle  doctrinal  points;  and  that  in 
point  of  doctrine  the  Saybrook  Council  did  nothing  but  re- 
affirm previous  standards.  The  churches  of  New  England 
were  at  one  with  each  other  and  with  the  Reformed  churches 
of  Europe  on  matters  of  doctrine.  It  is  necessary  to  bear 
this  in  mind  because  the  Saybrook  Platform  is  referred  to  as 
though  it  enunciated  some  frightful  statements  of  doctrine 
peculiar  to  itself.      It  did  nothing  of  the  kind. 

The  Articles  of  faith  of  the  Protestant  churches  of  Europe 
were  acceptable  to  and  accepted  by  our  forefathers  in  this 
country.  They  did  not  object  to  the  Thirty- nine  Articles  of 
the  Church  of  England,  except  to  those  of  a  political  charac- 
ter or  to  those  bearing  upon  church  government.  It  is  a 
fact  of  history  that  Archbishop  Cranmer,  who  was  the  lead- 
ing spirit  in  framing  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  VI.,  had  the  grand  idea  of  framing  an  evangelical, 
catholic  creed,  in  which  all  the  Reformed  churches  could 
agree,  in  opposition  to  the  Church  of  Rome  then  holding  the 
Council  of  Trent,  and  that  he  invited  the  surviving  continen- 
tal reformers,  Melancthon,  Calvin,  and  Bullinger,  to  London 


The  Saybrook  Plaiforiu.  33 

for  that  purpose.  Calvin  replied  that  he  "was  willing  to  cross 
ten  seas  for  such  a  work  of  Christian  union."  Political  events 
however  prevented  the  conference,  and  Cranmer  with  Ridley 
and  Latimer,  and  a  few  who  came  from  foreign  lands,  framed 
the  forty-two  Articles,  which  were  afterwards  reduced  to 
thirty-nine,  and  published  in  English  in  1571. 

The  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith,  which  afterwards 
became  the  standard  among  Presbyterians  and  Congrega- 
tionalists,  was  completed  in  1646. 

In  1648  this  was  adopted  unanimously  by  the  Council,  in 
which  were  representatives  from  the  Connecticut  and  New 
Haven  Colonies,  that  met  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  as  "very 
holy,  orthodox,  and  judicious  in  all  matters  of  faith,  and  we 
do  therefore  freely  and  fully  consent  thereunto  for  substance 
thereof,  only  in  those  things  which  have  respect  unto  church 
government  and  discipline  we  refer  ourselves  to  the  platform 
agreed  upon  by  the  present  assembly." 

This  Westminster  Confession  was  afterwards  modified  in 
matters  pertaining  to  church  government  at  the  Council  of 
elders  and  messengers  of  the  Congregational  churches  in 
England  held  at  the  Savoy  Palace  in  London  in  1658. 

The  General  Council  of  elders  and  messengers  of  the 
churches  in  New  England  held  in  Boston,  in  which  were 
representatives  from  Connecticut,  in  1680,  approved  of  and 
consented  to  this  amended  form  of  the  Westminster  Con- 
fession. 

The  Confession  of  Faith,  then,  that  was  approved  at  Say- 
brook,  was  that  which  was  affirmed  at  Cambridge  in  1648 
and  at  Boston  in  1680,  being  the  Westminster  as  modified 
at  the  Savoy.  The  compilers  at  Saybrook  did  not  alter  this 
Savoy  Confession  at  all,  but  simply  subjoined  to  each  section 
proof-texts  from  the  Scriptures.  That  the  Saybrook  Council 
regarded  the  three  Confessions — that  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, the  Westminster,  and  the  Savoy — as  meaning  essen- 
tially the  same  thing,  so  far  as  doctrines  are  concerjied,  and 
as  being  in  agreement  with  the  Word  of  God,  appears  from 


34  Saybi'ooISs  Qnadrimillenial. 

this  statement  which  they  made  in  the  eighth  head  of  the 
articles  of  agreement,  which  says:  "  As  to  what  appertains 
to  soundness  of  judgment  in  matters  of  faith,  we  esteem  it 
sufficient  that  a  church  acknowledge  the  Scriptures  to  be  the 
Word  of  God,  the  perfect  and  only  rule  of  faith  and  practise, 
and  we  own  either  the  doctrinal  part  of  those  commonly 
called  the  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England,  or  the  Confes- 
sion or  Catechisms,  shorter  or  larger,  compiled  by  the 
Assembly  at  Westminster,  or  the  Confession  agreed  on  at 
the  Savoy,  to  be  agreeable  to  said  rule." 

That  is,  their  doctrinal  basis  was  in  harmony  with  that  of 
the  Reformed  churches  of  England  and  the  Continent.  In 
this  part  of  their  deliverance,  then,  we  find  no  condemning 
feature  of  the  Saybrook  Platform. 

The  second  part  of  the  result  reported  to  the  Legislature 
consisted  of  the  "  Heads  of  Agreement  "  and  "  Articles  for 
the  Administration  of  Discipline ;  "  the  latter — the  Fifteen 
Articles^ — constitute  what  was  peculiar  to  the  Saybrook  Plat- 
form, all  bearing  upon  church  government.  The  Puritans  in 
the  old  country  and  in  this  were  not  at  first  as  fully  settled 
and  agreed  upon  church  government  and  discipline  as  upon 
doctrines ;  and  in  this  fact  there  is  nothing  surprising.  Doc- 
trines are  more  clearly  and  fully  revealed  in  Scriptures  than 
matters  pertaining  to  government,  and  the  latter  were  sub- 
jects of  rriuch  controversy  when  New  England  was  settled. 

There  were  differences  of  opinion  among  the  Puritans  of 
England  and  of  New  England  upon  matters  of  church 
government.  Some  were  Presbyterians  and  some  Inde- 
pendents in  England  ;  in  New  England  they  tried  to  take 
the  middle  ground  between  Presbyterianism  and  Indepen- 
dency. This  is  what  was  sought  in  the  Cambridge  Platform 
and  in  the  councils  held  from  time  to  time  during  that 
century ;  and  it  was  to  remedy  what  defects  had  been  found 
in  the  working  of  the  systems  that  had  been  previously 
wrought  out  that  the  Saybrook  Council  was  called.  The 
"  Heads  of  Agreement,"  so  called,  were  the  same  that  had 


The  Say  brook  P/al/ori)i.  35 

been  agreed  upon  in  1691  by  the  Presbyterian  and  Congre- 
gational ministers  in  England.  These  have,  for  the  most 
part,  to  do  with  the  power  of  particular  churches  in  the 
management  of  discipline  among  themselves.  They  refer 
also  to  the  relations  of  such  churches  to  each  other  and  to 
their  communion,  and  were  decidedly  Congregational. 

Thus  far  then  we  have  not  come  to  the  specific  and  pecu- 
liar work  of  the  Saybrook  Platform.  The  Confession  of  Faith, 
as  we  have  seen,  was  meant  to  be  in  accordance  with  the 
Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  was  that 
which  had  been  adopted  at  Westminster  and  modified  at 
the  Savoy.  The  Heads  of  Agreement  was  those  agreed 
upon  by  the  Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists  in  Eng- 
land in  1 69 1  for  the  sake  of  unity  and  peace. 

We  say  that  there  was  nothing  distinctive  in  the  positions 
taken  upon  these  points.  We  may,  perhaps,  make  this  ex- 
ception, that  the  language  used  in  the  report  of  the  Saybrook 
Council,  with  reference  to  the  "  Confession  "  and  "  Heads  of 
Agreement,"  was  more  mandatory  and  authoritative  than  was 
called  for  from  representatives  of  the  Congregational  churches. 
The  Confession  had  been  the  doctrinal  belief  of  the  churches, 
and  there  was  no  need  for  them  to  recommend  that  it  be 
declared  by  the  Legislature  tJiat  this  be  the  doctrinal  basis, 
or  to  agree  that  the  Heads  of  Agreement  "be  observed"  by 
the  churches  of  the  Colony. 

We  come  now  to  the  Saybrook  Platform  proper — the  fif- 
teen Articles  for  the  Administration  of  Discipline.  Now  we 
reach  what,  in  the  minds  of  some,  have  been  regarded  almost 
as  the  equivalent  of  the  so-called  Blue-Laws  of  Connecticut. 
This  was  the  Saybrook  Synod's  own  peculiar  work. 

These  articles  of  discipline  were  compiled  at  Saybrook 
from  the  four  models  prepared  in  the  county  conventions. 
President  Stiles  of  Yale  College  observes:  "I  have  been 
told  that  the  model  from  New  Haven  county,  said  to  have 
been  draughted  principally  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  James  Pierpont, 


36  Saybroo/cs  Quadriniillcnial. 

was  that  which,  with  some  amendments,  passed  the  Synod." 
These  provided  for  one  or  more  consociations  of  churches 
in  each  county,  which  should  be  the  reguhir,  known,  and  re- 
sponsible tribunals  with  appellate  and  final  jurisdiction  ;  to 
which  particular  churches  might  refer  cases  too  difficult  to  be 
well  adjudged  and  issued  by  them — cases  concerning  which 
there  should  "be  need  of  a  council  for  the  determination  of 
them" ;  and  to  which  aggrieved  individuals  in  the  churches 
might  apply  for  redress.  "One  principal  thing,"  says  Presi- 
dent Clap,  "  wherein  these  articles  differed  from  what  had 
been  before  generally  received  and  practised  in  the  New 
England  churches  was  this :  that  whereas  the  Cambridge 
Platform  had  said  in  general  terms,  that  councils  should 
consist  of  neighboring  churches,  and  some  question  had 
arisen  who  should  be  esteemed  neighboring  churches,  and 
what  number  should  be  called  in  particular  cases;  these 
articles  reduced  it  to  a  greater  certainty,  that  councils  should 
consist  of  neighboring  churches  of  the  county,  they  forming 
themselves  into  one  or  more  consociations  for  the  purpose." 
The  object  was  to  prevent  picked  councils,  ex  parte  councils, 
and  councils  upon  councils,  which  might  give  contradictory 
results,  and  plunge  the  churches  into  endless  troubles. 

The  articles  provided  also  for  associations  in  each  county, 
consisting  of  the  teaching  elders  or  ministers  of  that  county, 
who  should  meet  at  least  twice  in  the  year,  consult  together 
with  regard  to  the  duties  of  their  office  and  the  common 
interest  of  the  churches,  have  the  power  of  examining  and 
recommending  the  candidates  for  the  ministry,  take  notice  of 
any  of  their  number  accused  of  scandal  or  heresy,  and  if  they 
find  occasion  should  direct  the  calling  of  the  council  or  conso- 
ciation to  proceed  against  such  offending  ministers.  The  as- 
sociations also  were  to  be  consulted  by  "bereaved  churches" 
— those  without  a  pastor — and  were  to  recommend  such 
persons  as  might  be  fit  to  be  called  and  settled  in  the  work  of 
the  gospel  ministry ;  and  the  associations  were  to  see  that 
churches  did  seasonably  call  and  settle  a  minister,  or  to  report 


TIic  Saybrook  Platform,  ^il 

them  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Colony.  There  had 
been  occasional  meetings  of  ministers  before  this,  but,  as 
Trumbull  says,  being  "countenanced  by  no  ecclesiastical  con- 
stitution, attended  only  by  such  ministers  in  one  place  and 
another  as  were  willing  to  associate,  they  had  no  regular 
existence.  The  churches  might  advise  with  them  or  neglect 
to  do  so,  as  the)'  chose.  There  was  no  regular  way  of  intro- 
ducing "candidates"  into  the  ministry.  The  Platform  was 
designed  to  bring  these  things  into  more  order  and  system. 

The  articles  also  recommended  a  General  Association,  to 
be  composed  of  one  or  more  delegates  from  each  of  tlie 
county  associations,  which  should  meet  once  a  year.  In 
recommending  this  last,  the  Platform  said  nothing  about  the 
duties  of  this  body,  and  no  change  was  ever  made  in  the 
Platform  defining  the  work  of  the  General  Association,  It 
was  not  deemed  necessary;  for  in  the  general  meetini^s, 
which  the  ministers  of  New  P^ngland  had  long  held  at  the 
time  of  the  general  elections  at  Boston  and  Hartford,  they 
had  been  accustomed  to  go  into  consultations  on  the  interests 
of  the  churches,  and  of  the  cause  of  literature  ;  and  to  give 
advice  when  necessary;  sometimes  to  devise  measures  for  the 
relief  of  the  poor,  and  for  civilizing  and  Christianizing  the 
Indians.  It  was  not  a  legislative  body,  but  being  general 
the  recommendation  gave  abundant  scope  for  that  range  of 
consultation  and  discussion  which  has  taken  place  in  that 
body,  particularly  for  attending  to  those  various  objects  of 
benevolence  and  missionary  enterprise  that  are  of  conunon 
concern,  and  for  opening  correspondence  with  other  minis- 
terial and  ecclesiastical  bodies. 

This  then  was  the  Saybrook  Platform — a  scheme  for  the 
regular  and  orderly  working  of  the  churches.  ,  The  three 
prominent  objects  had  in  view  in  adopting  the  Heads  of 
Agreement  and  the  fifteen  Articles  of  Discipline  were  as 
stated  by  Dr.  Bacon  : 

"  I.  The  promotion  of  ortler  aiul  harmony  among  the 
ministers  and  churches. 


38  SiU'h'oo/cs  Ouadriniillonal. 

2.  The  regular  introduction  of  candidates  into  the  min- 
istry. 

3.  The  estabhshnicnt  of  a  fixed  and  defined  board  of 
appeal — the  county  consociation — a  council  by  which  such 
difficulties  as  the  particular  churches  themselves  could  not 
settle,  might  be  adjusted." 

Thus  the  work  of  the  Sajbrook  Synod  was  completed  by 
a  unanimous  vote,  and  the  three  documents  were,  one  month 
afterwards,  presented  to  the  legislature  in  its  October  session 
at  New  Haven  for  approval  and  establishment.  The  legisla- 
tive act  making  this  the  established  religion  of  the  Colony,  is 
as  follows : 

"  The  Reverend  ministers,  delegates  from  the  elders  and 
messengers  of  this  government,  met  at  Saybrook,  September 
9th,  1708,  having  presented  to  this  Assembly  a  Confession 
of  Faith,  Heads  of  Agreement,  and  regulations  in  the  admin- 
istration of  church  discipline,  as  unanimously  agreed  and 
consented  to  by  the  elders  and  churches  in  this  government : 
this  Assembly  doth  declare  their  great  approbation  of  such 
an  happy  agreement  and  do  crdain  that  all  the  churches 
within  this  government  that  are,  or  shall  be,  thus  united  in 
doctrine,  worship,  and  discipline,  be,  and  for  the  future  shall 
be  established  by  law  ;  provided  that  nothing  herein  shall  be 
intended  or  construed  to  hinder  or  prevent  any  society  or 
church,  that  is  or  shall  be  allowed  by  the  laws  of  this 
government,  who  soberly  differ  or  dissent  from  the  united 
churches  hereby  established,  from  exercising  worship  and 
discipline  in  their  own  way,  according  to  their  consciences." 

So  by  legislative  enactment,  the  churches  unjted  under  the 
Saybrook  Platform  became  "the  establishment,"  or,  as  it  was 
known,  "the  Standing  Order"  of  Connecticut,  and  all  others 
ivere  dissenters.  This  so  continued  for  seventy-six  years,  or 
till  1784,  when  the  legal  establishment  of  the  Saybrook 
Platform  was  abrogated,  leaving  all  persons  free  to  worship 
with  whatever  church  they  preferred.  All,  however,  were 
still  taxed  for  some  church,  the  church  of  their  choice.     In 


The  Say  brook  Plat  form.  3q 

the  year  1818,  when  the  new  constitution  of  the  State  was 
formed,  this  last  restriction  was  removed,  and  all  the 
churches  were  left  entirely  to  voluntary  support. 

The  Platform  was  made  the  law  of  the  State  before  it  had 
been  accepted  by  the  bodies  whose  delegates  prepared  it. 
The  next  year,  1709,  however,  it  was  approved  by  the 
county  conventions,  and  the  Hartford  North  and  South  As- 
sociations and  Consociations,  the  New  Haven  Association 
and  Consociation,  the  Fairfield  Association  and  Consociation, 
and  the  New  London  Association  and  Consociation  were 
formed.  Afterwards  the  New  Haven  was  divided  into  the 
East  and  the  West,  and  as  new  counties  were  formed  other 
divisions  were  made. 

The  first  General  Association  was  held  at  Hartford  on  the 
1 8th  of  May,  1709.  The  legislature  in  session  at  that  time, 
May,  1709,  ordered,  that  the  General  Association  revise  and 
prepare  for  the  press  the  three  parts  of  the  Platform,  "and 
being  revised,  that  the  same  shall  be  forthwith  printed."  A 
t  printing-press,  given  by  Governor  Saltonstall  to  the  Colony 
and  set  up  at  New  London,  the  governor's  residence,  was 
used,  and  in  the  next  year — 17 10 — the  Saybrook  Platform, 
the  first  book  ever  printed  in  Connecticut,  was  issued  by 
Thomas  Short. 

Under  the  Act  by  which  the  Saybrook  Platform  was  made 
the  established  religion  of  the  Colony,  all  persons  who 
soberly  dissented  from  the  worship  and  ministry  by  law  es- 
tablished (/.  e.,  the  Congregational),  were  permitted  to  enjoy 
the  same  liberty  of  conscience  with  the  Dissenters  in  England, 
under  the  act  of  William  and  Mary  in  1689—/.  e.  they  were 
exempt  from  punishment  for  not  conforming  to  the  est.ib- 
lished  religion,  but  not  exempt  from  taxation  for  its  support. 
By  appearing  before  the  county  court,  and  there  in  legal  terms 
declaring  their  "sober  dissent"  they  could  obtain  permission 
to  have  public  worship  in  their  own  way,  but  were  still 
obliged  to  pay  for  the  support  of  the  Congregational  churches 
in  the  places  of  their  residence.     There  was  a  further  rela.xa- 


40  SaybrooJcs  Quadrimillenial. 

tion  as  it  regards  Episcopalians  in  1727,  and  as  it  regards 
Quakers  and  Baptists  in  1729.  They  were  then  exempted 
from  taxation  for  the  established  churches,  provided  they 
attended  on  the  worship  of  God  in  a  tolerated  society  of  their 
own  denomination. 

The  process  of  "signing  ofif,"  as  it  was  called,  by  which 
one  might  remove  from  a  church  of  the  "standing  order"  to 
another,  was  required  in  order  to  free  one's  self  of  the  burden 
of  taxation.  The  story  is  told  of  an  influential  citizen  of  one 
of  the  towns  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  who  had  become 
wearied  of  being  taxed  for  the  established  church,  and  who 
went  to  the  proper  official  to  sign  the  requisite  paper  by 
which  he  should  be  released.  On  the  clerk  objecting  to  draw 
up  the  paper  because  of  his  importance  to  the  church,  and 
finally  refusing,  the  man  himself  took  pen  and  paper,  saying, 
"Well,  then,  I  will  draw  it  up  myself."  Whereupon  he 
produced  a  certificate  somewhat  like  this :  "  This  is  to 
certify  that  I, ,  hereby  renounce  the  Christian  re- 
ligion that  I  may  join  the  Episcopal  church." 

Not  all  who  left  the  "established  order  "  were  required  to 
make  such  a  renouncement  of  their  faith.  But  Congregation- 
aliats  and  Presbyterians  were  not  understood  as  having  the 
privilege  of  exemption.  If  for  any  reason  any  of  them 
wished  to  secede  and  worship  by  themselves,  they  were  still 
obliged  to  pay  their  taxes  for  the  support  of  the  church  from 
which  they  seceded.  Great  was  the  hostility  against  the 
"  Separates,"  who,  according  to  our  present  views  of  re- 
ligious liberty,  should  have  been  freely  allowed  to  secede  and 
form  distinct  churches.  The  plain  operation  of  the  discrimi- 
nation against  Separates  or  "  Strict  Congregationalists,"  as 
they  sometimes  called  themselves,  was  to  drive  them  into 
other  denominations.  If  they  seceded  from  the  established 
church  and  formed  another  Congregational  church,  they 
were  doubly  taxed — i.  e.  for  the  new  church  and  the  old  one 
too — by  law  for  the  old  one  and  necessarily  for  the  support 
of  the  new,  whereas  if  they  formed  a  church  of  another  de- 


The  Saybrook  Plixtform.  4* 

nomination,  they  were  released  from  taxation  for  the  one 
whieli  they  had  left.  This  diseiiniination  in  the  time  of  the 
Great  Awakenins^  in  the  middle  »)f  the  last  eentnr)-  resnlted 
in  the  formation  of  many  Baptist  churches. 

It  was  a  matter  of  doubt  what  was  the  intent  of  tiie 
proviso  at  the  close  of  the  act  of  the  le<jislature.  The  fair 
construction  would  seem  to  be  that  if  one  of  the  Congrega- 
tional churches  should  refuse  to  place  itself  under  the  Platform, 
it  might  maintain  sepa'rate  worship  and  be  tolerated  as  the 
churches  of  other  denominations  were,  but  it  was  not  so  con- 
strued. Congregationalists  were  required  by  law  to  accept 
the  "standing  order,"  and  many  churches  and  individuals 
suffered  great  hardships  for  conscience  sake.  An  illustration 
of  this  was  in  the  case  of  two  brothers,  T^benezer  and  John 
Cleveland,  students  in  Yale  College  in  1744.  The  corpora- 
tion of  the  college  adopted  the  Platform,  and  the  trustees  and 
officers  were  required,  upon  their  introduction  into  office,  to 
give  their  assent  to  it  and  to  the  Westminster  Confession 
and  Catechism.  The  two  students  referred  to  were  charged 
with  attending  "unlawful  or  separate  meetings"  during  their 
vacation  at  home.  On  their  return  to  college,  they  were 
suspended  till  they  should  confess  publicly  "  that  they  had 
violated  the  laws  of  the  Colony,  of  the  college,  and  of  God." 
I'^ailing  to  do  this,  they  were  formally  expelled  and  comman- 
ded "to  depart  from  the  college  limits,  no  more  to  return; 
likewise  the  scholars  were  forbidden  receiving  them  to  their 
rooms  or  conversing  with  them,  lest  they  be  infected  there- 
by." Many  other  instances  of  persecution  because  of  Sep- 
aratism could  be  cited. 

All  the  Congregational  churches  existing  at  the  time  the 
Council  met  were  sooner  or  later  consociated,  and  as  late  as 
1 84 1,  when  there  were  two  hundred  and  forty-si.x  churciies, 
all  but  fifteen  were  consociated.  Gradually,  however,  since 
the  civil  authority  was  wholly  withdrawn,  the  consociations 
have  been  changed  to  local  conferences  without  judicial  au- 
thority, and  the  churches  have  been  left  to  select  their  own 
councils  in  all  cases  of  difficulty. 


42  Sayl>}'Oo/cs  Oiiadrimilleniat. 

Tlie  one  great  outstanding  objection  to  this  scheme  of 
government  among  Congregationalists  has  been  the  making 
consociations  a  judicial  and  authoritative  tribunal  ;  that  has 
always  been  regarded  uncongregational.  This  objection  has 
always  held  against  the  Platform  itself. 

V>\\\.  much  of  the  odium  that  attached  itself  to  the  Plat- 
form was  due  to  the  legislative  action  which  made  this  the 
State  religion,  and  enforced  it  with  such  rigor  and  unjust 
discrimination.  It  would  have  arisen  against  any  union  of 
Church  and  State.  Our  fathers  came  hither  to  get  away  from 
State  religions,  and  they  could  not  help  being  restive  under 
the  inconsistency  of  State  interference  and  dictation  in 
matters  religious,  even  when  they  constituted  the  State  and 
administered  its  laws.  They  could  not  be  satisfied  even 
though  the  "  Separates "  often,  by  their  extreme  and  ultra 
views,  their  special  revelations,  and  irregular  and  questionable 
practises,  gave  them  some  ground  for  complacency  in  enfor- 
cing the  laws.  It  was  a  State  religion.  It  was  imposed  upon 
them;  and  they  were  of  too  sturdy  and  independent  a  stock 
to  submit  to  dictation  of  that  kind. 

The  suspicion,  too,  that  the  Platform  tilted  towards  Prcs- 
byterianism  led  many  to  set  themselves  in  opposition.  John 
Wise,  when  the  "  Proposals "  appeared  in  Massachusetts 
advocating  the  adoption  of  a  similar  system  there,  wrote  : 
"They  seem  a  conjunction  of  almost  all  the  church  govern- 
ments in  the  world,  and  the  least  part  is  Congregational. 
Indeed,  at  the  first  Cast  of  the  Eye  the  Scheme  seems  to  be 
the  Spectre  or  Ghost  of  Presbyterianism  *  *  yet  if  I  don't 
mistake  in  intention  there  is  something  considerable  of  Prelacy 
in  it,  only  the  distinct  Courts  of  Bishops,  with  the  Steeples  of 
the  Churches,  Tythes,  Surplice  and  other  Ornaments,  do  not 
show  themselves  so  visible,  as  to  be  discerned  at  the  first 
look ;  yet  with  a  Microscope  you  may  easily  discern  them 
really  to  be  there  in  Evibyro,  ct  in  Rernvi  natnra,  for  this  is 
a  known  maxim,  ^Qiiod  neccssario  SnbintcIIegiiiir  non  Deest,' 
— what  is  necessarily  understood,  or  lies  hid  in  the  Intention 


The  Sayhrth)l-   /V,i/ r,>)ii/. 


43 


of  a  Design,  is  really  there  by  just  IiUerprelalion.  •  • 
There  is  also  something  in  it  which  Smells  very  strong  of 
the  Infallible  Chair."  And  again  he  says:  "Though  it  be 
but  a  Calf  now,  yet  in  time  it  may  grow  (being  of  a  thirsty 
nature)  to  become  a  sturdy  Ox,  that  will  know  no  Whoa,  and 
it  may  be  past  the  Churches'  skill  then  to  subdue  it.  For  if  I 
am  not  much  mistaken,  That  great  and  Terrible  Beast  with 
seven  Heads  and  ten  Horns,  described  in  Revelation  13,  was 
nothing  a  (cw  Ages  ago  but  just  such  another  Calf  as  this  is. 
.  Therefore  to  conclude  and  infer,  Obsta  Principiis !  It 
is  wisdom  to  nip  such  Growths  in  the  Bud,  and  keep  down 
by  early  slaughter  such  a  breed  of  cattle.  Nam  oimie  malum 
iiascens  facile  opprimitiir  !  " 

And  when  Dr.  Emmons  put  forth  his  famous  axiom  : 
"  Association  leads  to  Consociation ;  Consociation  leads  to 
Presbytcrianism ;  Presbyterianism  leads  to  l4)iscopacy ; 
P!piscopacy  leads  to  Roman  Catholicism;  and  Roman  Cath- 
olicism is  an  ultimate  fact" — then  it  was  at  last  known  by  all 
how  perilous  the  whole  scheme  had  been  ! 

The  system  worked  well  on  the  whole,  and  Saybrook  has 
no  reason  to  be  ashamed  that  her  name  is  attached  to  the 
historic  document  that  has  held  so  conspicuous  a  place 
among  the  confessions  of  the  Christian  church.  It  bore  a 
large  part  in  shaping  Congregationalism.  As  Massachu- 
setts guarded  the  one  principle,  the  independence  of  the  local 
church:  Connecticut  defended  its  coordinate,  the  fellowship 
and  cooperation  of  the  churches. 

Gradually  the  system  was  relaxed,  and  what  was  judicial 
and  authoritative  about  it  disappeared.  It  would  have  been 
well  if,  in  our  swing  toward  independency,  we  had  preserved, 
by  common  consent,  more  of  what  was  really  wholesome  in 
the  Saybrook  system,  and  while  guarding  independence  had 
preserved  some  more  regularity  in  calling  councils,  introdu- 
cing into  the  ministry  (and  introducing  out  of  it),  and  some 
sisterly  or  at  least  cousinly  watch  and  care  between  churches 
of  the  same  faith  and  order. 


44  Saybrook's   QuadriiiiillcniaL 

Rev.  Dr.  Porter  of  Farmington  said  at  one  time:  "  I  have 
been  a  member  of  Hartford  Consociation  more  than  fifty 
years,  and  its  doings,  so  far  as  I  have  observed,  have  been 
sakitary  only.  And  I  know  not  how  the  same  happy  effect 
could  have  been  secured  in  any  other  way.  Nor  does  it 
seem  to  me  contrary  to  the  principles  of  Congregationalism, 
for  a  church  having  in  itself  the  power  of  self-government  to 
constitute  the  Consociation  a  standing  council  for  ultimate 
decision  in  those  extreme  cases  which  require  it." 

The  ecclesiastical  constitution  adopted  at  Saybrook  gave 
to  Congregationalism  recognized  and  formal  associations  of 
ministers  for  fellowship,  mutual  advice,  and  help  in  work, 
bodies  for  the  examining  and  certifying  candidates  for  the 
ministry,  and  for  the  discussion  of  questions  of  order  and 
doctrine.  This  arrangement  of  clerical  associations,  now 
universally  accepted,  including  all  Congregational  min- 
isters who  recognize  each  other's  regular  standing  in  the 
ministry,  and  giving  unity  and  completeness  to  our  eccles- 
iastical system,  without  infringing  upon  the  self-government 
of  the  churches,  seems  not  to  have  been  sustained  elsewhere 
until  the  usefulness  of  association  had  been  proved  by  ex- 
perience in  Connecticut. 

The  plan  of  consociation  of  churches  in  defined  districts 
has  found  less  favor  beyond  the  limits  of  this  State,  but  this 
example  of  confederation  has  had  its  influence.  The  stated 
annual  meeting  of  local  conferences  is  consociation  in  another 
form ;  consociation  stripped  of  its  judicial  and  authoritative 
power.  The  churches  of  Connecticut,  by  their  strict  confed- 
eration, have  guarded,  maintained,  and  commended  to  Con- 
gregationalists  everywhere,  as  I  have  said,  the  important  and 
distinctive  principle  of  our  polity,  the  fellowship  of  the 
churches — the  coordinate  and  complement  of  independency. 

It  may  be  noted  also,  to  the  credit  of  the  stable  and  secure 
condition  insured  under  our  ecclesiastical  system,  that  while 
other  true  Christian  churches  have  grown  vigorously  here 
and  enjoyed  the   benefits,    none   of  the   religious  organiza- 


The  Say  brook  Platform.  45 

tions  commonly  regarded  as  anti-evangelical  or  anti-orthodox 
has  ever  flourished  among  the  native  population  of  our  State. 
"  Whatever  fault,"  said  Dr.  Bacon  in  his  historical  address 
delivered  in  1859,  from  which  I  have  drawn  liberally  and 
often  literally,  "  we  may  find  in  our  ecclesiastical  system, 
whatever  errors  may  have  been  made  from  time  to  time  in 
the  working  of  it,  whatever  reasons  we  may  have  to  intjuire 
whether  the  system  needs  revision  and  reconstruction,  •  • 
our  own  Connecticut  to-day,  with  all  its  imperfections,  is  the 
convincing  testimony  to  the  value  of  these  two  principles  — 
the  association  of  pastors  for  professional  fellowshi[)  and 
mutual  cooperation,  and  the  friendly  confederation  of  the 
churches — which  were  first  inaugurated  and  made  effective 
by  our  fathers  "  here  at  Saybrook  "  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago." 

A  quartette  then  sang  Mrs.  Ikmans's  hymn,  "The  Land- 
ing of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,"  the  musical  arrangement  being 
by  Mr.  William  J.  Wouu  of  Saybrook. 


Tlic  breaking  waves  dashed  high 
On  a  stern  and  rock-bound  cuasl, 

And  tlie  woods  against  a  stormy  sky 
Tlicir.giaiit  branches  tossed  ; 

And  the  heavy  night  hung  dark 

The  Iiills  and  waters  o'er, 
Wiien  a  band  of  exiles  moored  llicir  bark 

On  the  wikl  New  KngUind  shore. 

Not  as  the  concjucror  comes, 
They,  the  true-hearted,  came  ; 

Not  with  llie  roll  of  stirring  drums. 
And  llie  trumpet  lliat  sings  of  fame  ; 

Not  as  the  flying  conic, 

In  silence  and  in  fear  ; 
They  shook  the  tlejjths  of  the  desert  gloom 

With  their  hymns  of  lofty  cheer. 


46  Saybrook's  Quadriniillcnial. 


Amidst  llic  storm  llicy  sang, 

And  the  stars  licard,  and  the  sea, 

And  the  sounding  aisles  of  the  dim  woods  rang 
To  tlic  anliicm  of  tlic  free. 

Tl)c  ocean  cagic  soared 

I'rom  his  nest  by  tlic  white  wave's  foam, 
And  tlic  rocking  pines  of  the  forest  roared — 

This  was  their  welcome  home. 


What  sought  they  thus  afar  ? 

Bright  jewels  of  the  mine? 
The  wealtli  of  seas,  tiie  spoils  of  war? 

They  sought  a  faith's  pure  shrine  ! 

Ay,  call  it  holy  ground. 

The  soil  where  first  they  trod. 
They  have  left  unstained  what  there  Ihcy  found — 

Freedom  to  worship  God. 

The  Rev.  John  Edward  Busiinkll,  Tastor  of  the  Con- 
gregational Church  in  Fairfield,  Conn.,  also  a  native  of 
Say  brook,  then  spoke  on 

"SAYHROOK  IN  THE  REVOLUTION." 

Tlie  distingtiished  part  borne  by  Connecticut  in  the  Revo- 
lution needs  no  praise  to-day.  Her  honors  are  safe,  woven 
into  the  life  of  the  nation's  history.  Enough  to  say  that  it 
was  hers  to  give  a  Governor,  Trumbull,  to  Washington's 
right  hand — his  "Brother  Jonathan" — in  counsel;  that  she 
advanced  her  niillions  for  the  "sinew"  of  that  war,  and  sent 
with  this  sinew  a  soul  to  quicken  it,  in  the  persons  of  32,000 
out  of  her  total  40,000  fighting  men — sent  out  of  her  own 
borders,  leaving  her  own  precious  homes  defenceless,  that 
they  might  go  to  the  continental  army.  She  was  the  first 
of  the  colonies  to  instruct  delegates  to  the  continental  Con- 
gress to  strike  iox  liberty.  Her  sleepless  devotion  had  ready 
at  hand  for  the  battle  of  Bunker  Mill,  3,000  men,  and  of  those 


Say  brook  in  tlic  Revolution.  4^ 

whom  Washington  commanded  at  the  beginning  of  the  con- 
flicts about  New  York,  viore  tJian  onc-lialf  were  from  her 
valiant  yeomanry.  While  then  Connecticut  was  a  small  star 
among  those  that  shone  upon  the  old  flag  that  led  the  Revo- 
lutionary forces,  she  was  lighted  up — as  it  seems  to  her  always 
modest  children — with  a  lustre  that  was  shadowed  by  none. 

My  theme  is  Saybrook's  portion  of  her  lion-share. 

But  that  we  wish  to-day  to  honor  the  details  of  history,  it 
would  be  safe  and  sufficient  to  say  that  she  bore  her  share 
along  with  her  sister  towns  in  the  patient,  devoted  service  of 
that  generation.  In  looking  for  eminent  distinctions  in  her 
pages  we  do  not  find  them.  Never  did  I  so  earnestly  crave 
a  battle-field  for  the  old  town,  with  an  honored  list  of  killed 
or  captured,  and  thrilling  adventures  by  land  and  sea, 
and  then  to  be  able  to  take  from  their  sacred  resting-place 
the  old  war-scarred  banners  and  wave  them  here,  and  say 
to  the  blooming  generation  of  the  present  hour:  "These 
are  the  standards  that  your  fathers  held  when  they  drove 
the  British  invader  from  their  gates."  And  to  think  that  if 
they  had  only  been  quick  enough,  they  might  have  started 
the  battle  of  Lexington  among  the  reeds  and  bullrushes  of 
our  own  fair  streams  ! 

We  can  wish  all  this,  but  it  could  not  be.  The  war  was 
not  here.  The  plan  of  it  was  New  York — north  and  south — 
cutting  off  New  England  from  the  rest  of  the  continent  (jn 
the  one  side  and  preventing  such  a  division  on  the  other. 
I'^xcept  for  excursions  for  booty  or  malice,  there  was  no  mo- 
tive to  bring  the  enemy  to  our  towns.  But  while  such  was 
the  plan  and  sphere  of  the  war,  there  remained  always  the 
possibility  of  a  change,  and  the  consequent  danger  felt  for 
Saybrook,  so  favorably  situated  for  strategic  purposes.  The 
liritish  boats  hovered  about  Long  Island  and  menaced  coast 
and  river.  For  their  own  reasons  tiiey  did  not  attempt  to 
possess  the  river.  Perhaps  they  preferred  to  have  us  keep 
the  bar.  There  is  abundant  reason  to  believe  that  the  people 
of  Saybrook  were  thoroughly  alive  to  the   spirit  of  the  Rev- 


4§  Saybroo/cs  QitadriiuillcniaL 

olution;  the  constant  view  of  British  patrols  passing  up  the 
Sound  was  a  daily  reminder,  if  they  needed   any. 

In  the  record  of  the  colony  we  fnid  that  among  the  com- 
panies which  went  to  the  relief  of  Boston  during  the  Lex- 
ington alarms,  April,  1775,  was  one  of  fifty-nine  men  from 
Say  brook.  In  July  of  the  same  year  the  Point  was  further 
aroused  by  the  entrance  of  a  Ikitish  sloop  chasing  a  Colony 
schooner  and  examining  her,  while  the  militia,  drawn  by  the 
excitement  to  the  shore,  made  a  {nwi  exchanges  of  shot  with 
them — the  first  of  those  grim  courtesies  of  the  war. 

In  the  following  year,  (1776),  Gov.  Trumbull  issued  a  pro- 
clamation requesting  all  persons  who  were  exempt  from  active 
military  service  to  organize  companies  to  keep  up  the  war 
spirit  at  home.  Saybrook  was  one  of  the  towns  to  respond 
heartily. 

In  August,  1776,  a  ship  was  built  at  Saybrook  and  passed 
over  the  bar;  the  largest  with  which  this  old  Neptunian  rib  had 
ever  had  the  honor  of  trying  conclusions.  In  the  same  season, 
Saybrook  with  three  other  towns  raised  the  seventh  regiment 
for  the  continental  army.  In  the  May  previous  so  zealous 
were  they  that  an  appeal  was  made  to  the  Legislature,  and 
granted,  for  building  a  fort  on  the  site  of  the  old  one,  to  con- 
tain six  carriage-guns  for  the  defense  of  the  town  and  river 
interests.  To  encourage  them  the  more  in  this  patriotic 
action,  twenty  men  were  sent  to  their  assistance  out  of  the 
regular  army.  Needless  to  say,  this  defensive  enterprise  took 
time,  labor,  and  expense.  It  was  watched  with  anxious  in- 
terest by  all  the  colony.  With  the  work  of  ship-building  and 
fort-raising,  in  addition  to  the  sending  of  men  away  to  the 
frontier  lines  of  service,  the  eventful  year  of  1776  was  filled 
for  them  with  sacrifice  and  the  true  spirit  of  the  Revolution. 
The  State  records  are  a  sufficient  witness  to  the  fidelity  of 
her  citizens.  She  has  her  share  of  names  in  the  roll  of 
private  soldiers  who  laid  down  their  lives  in  battle,  and  of 
those  who  were  discharged  with  honorable  wounds.  A  just 
proportion  of  them,  too,  bore  the  title  of  Adjutant,  Quarter- 


Saydrook  in  tJic  Revolution.  49 

master,  Ensign,  Lieutenant,  Captain,  and  if  tliey  failed  to  at- 
tain to  a  Generalship  it  was  because  the  old  xvolf-hnntcr  from 
Pcmfret  could  not  spare  them  from  their  trusty  flint-locks  for 
the  idle  business  of  wearing  the  gilt.  We  may  add  incidentally 
to  our  previous  mention,  that  the  building  of  the  ship  at  Say- 
brook  seems  to  have  been  made  a  matter  of  universal  concern, 
l^eginning  with  January,  1776,  the  records  are  replete  with 
solicitude  about  that  boat.  Capt.  X.  is  appointed  to  build  it. 
At  another  date,  Capt.  Y.  is  sent  to  supervise  and  hasten 
him.  Then  follows  frequent  mention  of  acts  about  rigging 
and  duck  for  tJiat  boat  at  Sayhrook,  not  to  speak  of  n^.oneys 
sent  to  lubricate  the  machinery  of  progress  still  more.  I  am 
not  sure  but  that  it  was  the  cackling  of  the  whole  roost- 
full  over  that  one  ^^^  which  frightened  the  British  fleet 
from  our  river.  The  trouble  did  not  end  till  the  "  Oliver 
Cromwell"  was  safely  over  the  bar,  and  certain  of  the  build- 
ers were  brought  to  trial  for  alleged  abuse  of  the  building 
money.  Whether  she,  on  the  high  seas,  kept  up  the  notoriety 
begun  on  the  stays  I  cannot  report,  but  as  Azariah  Whittle- 
sey, of  Saybrook,  was  her  master,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  she 
never  ran  from  the  enemy's  fire. 

In  the  same  month  that  this  naval  thunderer  went  out  of 
the  river,  wafted  on  full  sail  by  the  acclamations  of  soldiers 
at  the  fort  and  the  jubilees  of  her  citizens  along  the  sh.ore, 
another  of  the  town's  sea-princes,  Capt.  Seth  Warner,  received 
commission  and  money  to  raise  a  crew  of  iio  seamen  for 
duty  on  the  northern  lakes.  For  the  few  months  following^ 
the  life  of  the  town  is  varied  by  excitements  attending  watch 
on  British  patrol-boats,  the  going  and  coming  of  companies, 
and  the  perfecting  of  the  fort. 

Letters  of  1776  are  in  the  possession  of  our  townsman,  Mr. 
Tully,  written  by  valiant  soldiers  of  the  place,  far  off  in  the 
Massachusetts  camps,  filled  with  the  exciting  news  from  the 
very  front  line  of  war.  Her  sons  were  not  to  be  drawn  into 
the  war  reluctantly;  they  were  in  an  even  line  with  the  fore- 
most on  land  and  sea. 


50  Saybroo/cs  QiiadriiuillciiiaL 

The  year  1777  opened,  as  we  may  imagine,  with  increaseu 
fever  in  the  veins  of  Revolution.  In  April,  the  town  receives 
peculiar  renown  through  the  scientific  genius  of  one  of  her 
sons,  David  Bushnell,  who  was  born  in  the  Westbrook  parish. 
This  man  appears  before  Governor  and  Council  to  exhibit  a 
torpedo  arrangement  for  naval  warfare.  The  acute  minds  of 
Brother  Jonathan  and  Gen.  Putnam  were  not  slow  to  see  the 
merits  of  his  idea,  and  they  furnished  him  with  the  requisite 
provision,  that  he  might  put  it  to  an  immediate  trial.  Making 
his  headquarters  at  our  ferry,  he  then  went  to  work  to  construct 
the  famous  "American  Turtle,"  by  which  one  Yankee  expected 
to  sink  the  whole  British  navy.  The  inventor  began  with  A  in 
the  alphabet  of  the  science.  His  first  labor  was  to  prove  that 
gunpowder  would  explode  under  water.  Then  he  built  the 
boat.  It  outwardly  resembled  two  tortoise  shells  in  contact, 
seven  and  one-half  feet  long,  with  just  room  for  the  captain, 
who  was  also  the  crew  in  this  case,  and  with  air  enough  to 
last  thirty  minutes.  Most  of  the  ballast  was  attached  to  the 
keel  and  could  be  lowered  to  the  bottom  for  anchorage.  The 
boat  was  so  arranged  with  a  paddle  system  that  it  could  be 
moved  in  either  direction,  the  paddles  being  operated  by  the 
feet.  He  had  a  barometer  in  the  boat  by  which  he  could 
estimate  his  distance  from  the  surface,  and  also  a  compass  by 
which  to  direct  his  course.  He  was  especially  troubled  about 
the  use  of  light.  A  flame  would  consume  the  air  in  a  short 
time.  A  kind  of  wood  was  found  that  was  suitable  for  his 
purpose  except  when  it  was  injured  by  frost,  and  he  wrote  to 
Dr.  Franklin  to  inquire  about  the  use  of  phosphorus,  which 
he  was  finally  able  to  substitute. 

Gen.  Putnam  himself  was  down  to  see  the  first  experiment, 
which  was  unsuccessful,  in  not  grappling  the  magazine  to  the 
enemy's  ship.  Other  attempts  were  made,  but,  alas  for 
human  hopes  !  the  British  tar  still  rode  the  main.  The  good 
frigate  Cerberus  came  very  near  destruction  off  New  London. 
The  torpedo,  however,  was  so  stupid  as  to  grapple  an  inoffen- 
sive Colony  schooner  near  her,  and   demolished   it   instead. 


Sayhrook  in  tJic  Rcvolntioii.  5 1 

After  this  blunder  "  the  Turtle"  was  excused ^nd  allowed  to 
put  its  head  within  its  shell,  but  not  until  it  had  succeeded 
in  alarming  the  enemy  and  making  them  extremely  cautious 
about  their  naval  demonstrations.  The  inventor  then  used  the 
same  principle  in  the  employment  of  kegs  of  powder,  which 
were  to  explode  by  a  system  of  machinery,  on  contact  with  the 
hostile  ships.  A  fleet  of  them  was  set  afloat  on  the  Delaware 
river  and  commissioned  to  drift  down  the  stream  and  destroy 
the  enemy.  But  this  time  it  was  the  ice,  (was  ever  an  inven- 
tor so  beset  as  ours  ?)  and  the  kegs,  having  just  as  much  feel- 
ing against  the  ice  as  against  the  British  fleet,  went  bravely 
to  work  and  cleared  the  -river  of  it,  leaving  the  English — 
excepting  one  unfortunate  vessel  which  went  up  with  the  ice — 
wondering  what  manner  of  country  it  could  be  where  water, 
and  ice,  and  sometimes  schooners,  floated  up-hill.  They  were 
forthwith  thrown  into  a  panic,  for  they  ranged  the  shores 
along,  and  fired  mercilessly  at  the  floating  kegs  till  they  were 
glad  to  hide  their  heads.  To-day  every  American  school- 
lad  knows  where  the  "  Battle  of  the  Kegs "  was  contested, 
when  the  valley  of  the  Delaware  was  shadowed  throughout 
by  the  grim  visage  of  war.  As  showing  the  shamefacedness 
of  the  English  over  this  event,  it  may  be  mentioned  that 
they  offered  a  reward  for  Bushnell,  living  or  dead.  But  he 
escaped  to  serve  his  country  to  the  end  of  the  war.  This 
submarine  science  thus  begun,  though  not  as  apparently  suc- 
cessful as  it  seemed  to  deserve,  was  the  beginning  of  great 
things.  It  established  forever  the  principle  of  submarine  ex- 
plosives and  set  a  whole  school  of  successors  (notably  Robert 
Fulton)  at  work  on  the  same  idea;  and  to-day  our  government 
with  its  thousands  of  miles  of  open  sea-coast,  and  without  a 
single  ship  for  the  defense  of  it,  worthy  of  the  flag  it  carries,  is 
rendered  almost  impregnable  against  the  costliest  iron-clad 
fleets  of  modern  Europe,  by  that  deadly  little  scourge  which 
works  out  of  sight  and  brings  death  and  destruction  out  of 
the  depths  of  the  sea.  If  then,  as  seems  to  be  just,  the  greatest 
war-defense  of  our  nation,   the  American    torpedo,   is   the 


52  Saybroo/ys   Quadriuiilloiial. 

youngest  child  of  the  genius  which  had  the  "  American 
Turtle"  for  its  first-born,  then  to  Yale  College  which  schooled 
that  genius,  and  to  Saybrook  which  cradled  them  both, 
belongs  the  glory,  which  eclipses  every  other  in  Revolution- 
ary annals,  for  the  science  which  was  then  rudely  shapen,  at 
present  promises  to  change  every  principle  of  naval  equip- 
ment and  warfare  for  all  nations.  During  the  rest  of  the  war, 
as  they  began,  the  people  of  this  town  went  on,  doing  their 
share  of  the  work;  sending  out  men  ;  on  guard  at  home. 

Owing  to  the  location  of  the  town,  there  was  frequent 
contact  with  that  subtle  kind  of  foe  which  works  without 
sword,  by  stealth  and  in  the  darkness — the  enemy  within  the 
gates.  The  British  on  the  Sound  were  glad  of  the  Tory 
aid  which  brought  them  contraband  supplies  from  up  the 
river.  We  are  proud  to  learn  that  in  their  passage  down  the 
river,  they  found  a  sleepless  watch  at  the  Point.  And  this 
brings  us  to  the  only  sanguinary  battle  of  the  Revolution 
fought  on  Saybrook  soil.  A  mass  of  contraband  articles  had 
been  taken  from  the  Tories,  and  a  young  man — William 
Tully — was  set  to  watch  it,  in  the  house  formerly  owned  by 
Capt.  John  Whittlesey,  still  standing  at  the  Point. 

On  a  certain  night  eight  Tories  came  to  the  house  and 
demanded  entrance.  Tully  begged  to  be  excused  from 
opening  the  door.  They  broke  in  without  further  parley  and 
rushed  forward.  Tully's  flint  was  faithful  to  the  trip  of  the 
hammer  and  struck  fire.  The  musket  ball  passed  through 
the  first  man,  and  to  Tully's  surprise  he  still  advanced,  but 
the  man  directly  back  of  him  dropped  dead.  Tully  then 
surrounded  the  other  six  men  and  would  have  incontinent- 
ally  put  them  all  to  the  bayonet  (and  did  wound  one  of 
them),  had  they  not  contrived  to  escape  by  the  windows. 
The  first  man  whom  Tully  shot  finally  discovered  that  the 
ball  had  passed  through  him,  and  dropped  dead  with  one 
hand  on  the  window  and  the  other  grasping  a  chest  of  tea.. 
The  retreating  forces  left  a  quarter  of  their  number  dead  on 
the   field — or  floor — and   a  quarter  of  the  remaining  were 


Say  brook  in  the  Rcvolulion.  53 

carried  away  wounded  in  their  arms.     It  is,  perhaps,  note- 
worthy that  the  continental  army  did  not  lose  a  man. 

About  the  same  time  a  Mr.  Charles  Williams  of  the  Point 
also  constituted  himself  a  continental  army,  and  hearing  one 
night  the  rubbing  of  boat-keels  on  the  beach,  ran  out  and 
cried  to  the  passing  winds:  "Turn  out,  guards  !  Turn  out  !  " 
and  the  enemy  fled,  pursued  by  imaginary  legions  of  the 
adversary.  This  man's  name  takes  us  gracefully  over  to 
Groton.  His  son,  Daniel  Williams,  he  allowed  to  go  as 
substitute  for  another  man  at  Fort  Griswold,  receiving  in  pay- 
ment a  hogshead  of  cider,  the  legal  tender  for  debts  in  those 
days.  Young  Daniel  reached  the  fort  on  the  day  before  the 
massacre,  and  was  killed  while  passing  powder  to  the  soldiers 
in  the  fort.  He  was  the  youngest  member  of  the  garrison. 
Of  Saybrook  men  killed  at  Fort  Griswold,  there  were  in  all 
five ;  several  others  were  wounded.  Among  those  taken 
prisoners  was  a  Saybrook  man.  Lieutenant  Jabez  Stowe, 
who  seems  to  have  been  a  valiant  soldier.  The  government 
afterward  remunerated  him  for  the  losses  and  hardships  en- 
dured by  him  in  the  service,  and  it  was  even  proposed  to 
give  him  a  medal  of  honor. 

It  is,  I  may  add,  a  tradition  in  my  own  family  circle  that 
there  was  also  a  brother  of  this  Lieut.  Stowe  present  at  the 
attack  on  Fort  Griswold,  who  escaped  death  by  concealment 
among  the  bodies  of  the  slain,  and  after  the  slaughter  walked 
to  this  town,  to  his  own  home,  bringing  the  first  intelligence 
of  the  disaster. 

Such  are  the  fragments  of  history  which  make  up  the  story 
of  our  town  in  the  fevered  days  of  the  Revolution. 

If  that  part  were  not  a  conspicuous  one  it  was  certainly  a 
faithful :  heroic,  in  that  they  did  all  that  God  or  man  could 
ask  of  them. 

To  know  what  the  town  was  then,  we  must  divest  our 
fancies  of  those  colorings  which  make  it  now  to  us  the  fairest 
corner  of  the  globe.  They  fought  for  homes,  humbler  far 
than   those   which   adorn   its   streets  to-day,  but  they  were 


54  Saj'droo//s  QuadyiniillcniaL 

liomes  as  precious  to  tliem.  Perhaps  a  dozen  of  the  dwell- 
ings then  standing  arc  standing  yet — those  changed,  and  all 
else  Jioiv  changed !  Suppose  the  homes  that  make  the 
town  for  us  all  gone ;  remove  both  church  edifices  now 
standing ;  put  the  predecessor  of  this  one,  where  we  now 
are  met,  across  the  street  on  the  public  green ;  gather  by- 
fancy  into  that  plain  meeting-house  for  weekly  devotion  all 
the  people  of  the  town,  and  at  the  head  of  that  Christian  fold 
put  that  venerable  and  illustrious  man,  Rev,  William  Hart, 
for  fifty-two  years  the  honored  and  honoring  pastor,  who 
through  his  long  and  useful  ministry  was  known  as  one  of 
the  very  foremost  thinkers,  scholars  and  debaters  of  his 
day ;  from  our  streets  remove  those  stately  trees  which  are 
now  our  pride  ;  take  the  paint  from  most  of  the  dwellings, 
and  on  the  remaining  substitute  the  plain,  not  costly,  red  of 
that  day  ;  destroy  the  fences  and  abridge  the  walks  to  narrow 
unkept  paths;  think  of  the  men  as  walking  about  in  homely 
garments,  spun  by  the  hands  of  their  good  wives  and 
ruddy  daughters,  and  earning  their  living  by  their  own  hard 
industrious  tilling  of  the  soil  where  God  had  ordered  it; 
ascribe  unto  them  the  princely  spirit  of  the  sons  and  daugh- 
ters of  God,  who  scorned  the  fear  of  man,  with  whom 
liberty  was  synonymous  with  life,  and  who  were  willing  to  do 
and  die  for  the  sweet  sake  of  that  liberty;  and  we  have  Say- 
brook  in  the  Revolution. 

After  an  organ  solo  by  Mr.  Frank  Inman  ClarK  of 
Saybrook — Mendelssohn's  "War  March  of  the  Priests" — the 
Rev.  Salmon  McCall  of  East  Haddam,  for  many  years 
Pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  Saybrook,  spoke  on 

"THE    DIVISIONS    OF    THE   OLD    COLONY." 

Last  Sabbath  morning  I  felt  very  much  at  home  in  this 
place,  but  I  come  to-day  as  one  born  out  of  due  time,  since 


The  Divisions  of  the  Old  Colony.  55 

it  was  only  last  Saturday  evening  that  I  received  the  invita- 
tion to  speak  on  this  theme.  To  think  of  asking  me,  a  man 
of  peace,  who  have  been  striving  all  my  life  to  prevent  and 
heal  divisions,  to  speak  on  such  a  subject  as  this,  so  difficult, 
so  painful,  and  so  delicate — "The  Divisions  of  the  Old  Col- 
ony "  !     However,  the  call  has  come,  and  here  I  am. 

First,  wc  must  give  a  few  moments  to  the  consideration 
of  that  Norwich  business,  in  1660,  a  very  painful  affair  in  its 
time.  It  was  not  supposed  that  so  wise  a  man  and  so  great 
a  king  as  Solomon  in  his  time,  could  successfully  divide  a 
living  infant,  and  both  parts  should  live  afterwards,  but  that 
was  about  the  experiment  which  this  Norwich  business  tried, 
and,  wonderful  to  tell,  both  parts  lived  and  are  living  and 
flourishing  to-day.  The  early  settlers  had  scarcely  begun  to 
feel  themselves  at  home  here  before  they  were  called  upon  to 
part  with  a  majority  of  their  number,  and,  among  them,  many 
of  those  of  the  greatest  weight  of  character,  to  go  far  hence 
into  the  wilderness,  and  take  up  new  lands,  leaving  the  min- 
ority to  struggle  and  wrestle,  as  best  they  might,  to  sustain 
their  existence  here.  I  think  they  worried  along  with  many 
sighs  and  tears  for  about  five  years,  until  there  came  to  them 
a  very  famous  pastor  in  the  person  of  the  ancestor  of  Dr. 
Buckingham,  after  whose  coming  this  church  flourished  ex- 
ceedingly well. 

Who  were  these  men,  who  went  over  to  Norwich  ?  John 
Mason,  for  one,  a  tremendous  fighter  of  Indians;  James  h^itch, 
for  another,  the  early  pastor  of  this  church,  and,  in  his  time, 
one  of  the  wisest  and  strongest  men  in  the  colony.  They 
went  over  to  Norwich  very  well  pleased  with  the  situation  of 
things  over  there  and  very  well  pleased  with  one  another,  for 
it  turned  out  in  the  lapse  of  time  that  Mr.  Fitch,  having 
become  a  widower,  asked  Priscilla  Mason,  daughter  of  John, 
if  she  would  finish  the  rest  of  life's  journey  with  him.  We 
do  not  know  very  much  about  her,  but  probably  she  may  be 
classed  with  that  other  Priscilla  whom  Miles  Standish  did  not 
marry  and  John  Alden  did.    Mr.  Fitch  was  the  father  of  four- 


56  Say  brook's  QiiadriniillcniaL 

teen  children — I  suppose  about  the  average  number  for  those 
clays — and  Norwich  was  found  quite  too  narrow  to  contain  the 
energies  of  these  settlers,  so  they  overflowed  into  the  borders 
of  what  is  now  the  town  of  Lebanon,  in  which  town  Rev.  Mr. 
Buckingham  and  myself  had  the  honor  to  be  born,  and  where 
Mr.  Fitch  was  buried.  I  remember  among  the  sights  of  my 
boyhood,  the  figures  of  some  of  these  majestic  men  and 
women,  the  descendants  of  John  Mason  and  James  Fitch. 
I  am  reminded  of  what  was  said  to  Gideon  respecting  his 
brethren :  "  Each  one  resembling  the  children  of  a  king." 
Let  me  recall  to  the  recollection  of  some  who  are  here  to-day, 
as  one  of  the  descendants  of  those  early  settlers,  Jeremiah 
Mason,  who  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
men  this  commonwealth,  this  country,  has  ever  produced  ;  in 
his  profession  having  few  if  any  superiors. 

They  are  doing  very  well  over  there,  and  all  the  better 
surely  for  having  been  reinforced  in  these  later  days  by  the 
bright  example  and  the  patriotic  labors  of  one  whose  ancestors 
for  five  generations  made  this  place  their  home,  and  who, 
though  not  born  here,  was  in  his  infancy  here  baptized.  They 
will  not  hesitate  to  allow  that  in  the  shining  roll  of  their 
worthies  there  is  no  more  honorable,  no  more  inspiring  name, 
no  name  deserving  to  be  held  in  more  lasting  remembrance  in 
the  commonwealth  and  in  the  nation,  than  that  of  William 
A.  Buckingham. 

Well,  we  are  glad  for  them  that  they  found  so  favorable  a 
place  and  that  they  have  done  so  well.  We  extend  to  them 
greetings  and  congratulations,  and  may  God  bless  them  from 
this  time  forth  and  forever ! 

This  town  of  Saybrook  spread  its  wings  in  those  days 
across  the  river,  and  so  we  must  have  a  word  in  regard  to  our 
fellow  citizens  in  the  town  of  Lyme.  You  know  they  have 
been  very  much  given  to  the  rearing  and  supporting  of  law- 
yers. It  has  been  a  lawyers'  town,  and  we  over  here  have 
sometimes  feared  they  might  get  too  much  into  a  legal  way 
of  thinking  and  of  living.     Nevertheless  we  are  much  pleased 


The  Divisions  of  the  Old  Colo?iy.  57 

with  the  eminence  to  which  many  of  their  sons  have  come. 
We  have  seen  their  citizens  selected  by  the  people  of  the 
State  of  Connecticut  and  placed  in  the  Governor's  chair. 
We  have  seen  them  seated  upon  the  bench  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  and  one  of  them  Chief 
Justice  of  the  State,  and  now  his  son  Chief  Justice  of  the 
United  States,  a  position  in  the  judgment  of  some  the  high- 
est to  which  any  citizen  of  this  Republic  can  aspire.  I  had 
hoped  to  see  here  to-day  the  venerable  face  of  one  of  those 
lawyers,  one  of  those  judges.  Lieutenant  Governor,  judge,  and 
foreign  minister  all  in  one,  a  graduate  of  Yale  College  in 
1817;  but,  as  he  is  not  here  to  speak  for  himself,  I  should  lilce 
to  tell  a  little  story  about  him,  and  I  shall  tell  it  with  a  special 
interest  because  our  venerable  President  Porter  is  here,  a  man 
who  to  me  has  seemed  to  know  about  everything  that  is 
worth  knowing  in  this  world,  but  I  think  he  had  the  misfor- 
tune in  his  college  days  of  not  being  one  of  the  "  Brothers  in 
Unity,"  and  so  of  course  he  could  not  know  anything  about 
the  rich  treats  we  enjo)-cd  in  those  grand  old  days,  when  at 
our  annual  reunions,  one  year  His  Excellency  Governor 
l^issell  presided,  at  another  His  Honor  Lieutenant  Governor 
McCurdy  did  the  same.  And  I  tell  this  little  story  to  show 
that  the  college  has  in  these  later  years  been  in  some  measure 
indebted  to  these  old  towns. 

Mr.  McCurdy  was  president  of  the  Brothers  in  Unity  in 
his  senior  year,  and  like  other  presidents  he  had  patronage 
to  dispense.  Among  the  appointments  in  his  gift  was  that 
of  reader  for  the  freshman  class.  Of  course  he  knew  no  one 
in  that  class;  for  what  senior  ever  did  know  a  freshman  ?  But 
he  cast  his  eye  over  the  benches  where  the  freshmen  sat  and 
he  saw  among  them  one  little  black-eyed  boy,  and  he  thouglit 
there  was  something  in  him,  so  he  ventured  to  appoint  him 
to  the  office;  "and  thus,"  said  he,  "I  set  his  feet  upon  the 
lowest  step  of  the  ladder,  which  he  has  ascended  steadily  till 
the  present  day,  when  he  occupies  a  position  of  as  much 
honor,  influence,  and   fame,  as  any  man  in  this  Republic." 


5 8  Saybroolcs  QuadrimilleniaL 

The  name  of  the  little  black-cycd  boy  is  Theodore  Dwight 
Woolsey. 

So  much  for  the  divisions  of  the  old  Colony  times. 

I"or  one  hundred  and  seventy  years  the  town  remained  one 
and  the  population  increased  to  8,000,  who  dwelt  here  har- 
moniously. In  1835  or  1836,  the  people  in  the  north  part 
of  this  town  wished  for  a  corporate  existence.  Then,  as 
Chester  had  done  so  well  in  setting  up  housekeeping  for  her- 
self, those  in  the  wxst  part  thought  they  would  like  to  be  in- 
dulged in  the  same  privileges,  and  the  process  thus  begun 
went  on  so  that  in  about  twenty  years  five  towns  were  carved 
out  of  this  one — Chester,  Westbrook,  Old  Saybrook,  Essex, 
and  Saybrook,  On  some  accounts  we  have  regretted  these 
manifold  divisions,  and  yet  we  bear  the  most  cordial  good- 
will to  every  section  and  rejoice  in  the  prosperity  of  each 
and  all  in  their  several  pursuits.  And  let  me  suggest  to  those 
who  in  form  have  separated  from  us,  that  there  may  yet  be 
blessings  to  come  upon  them  from  the  old  home  and  hearth- 
stone. And  to  illustrate  my  meaning  let  me  relate  a  little  in- 
cident which  occurred  here  not  so  very  many  years  ago. 

It  so  happened  in  those  days  that  some  of  the  citizens  liv- 
ing north  of  here  became  seriously  disturbed  in  their  neigh- 
borly and  family  relations,  in  consequence  of  having  been 
out  upon  the  errand  of  a  hunting  party.  After  the  hunting 
was  ended  they  must  have  something  to  eat  and  drink,  and 
the  result  was  that  they  became  a  little  pugnacious.  Two 
men  came  to  blows,  and  after  the  wine  was  out  and  the  wit 
was  not  fully  in,  they  thought  they  must  have  redress,  and  so 
one  of  them  proposed  to  prosecute  the  other.  They  said,  "We 
must  have  a  worthy  man  to  judge  us."  They  saw  an  old 
man  down  here  whom  they  were  willing  to  trust,  a  man  who 
stood  high  in  church  and  state,  and  they  said,  "  We  will  go 
down  and  see  him."  Lawyers  were  engaged  on  both  sides; 
the  worthy  magistrate  held  his  court;  all  things  were  said 
except  the  final  sentence.  The  justice  said,  "  I  am  satisfied 
what  verdict  to  give.     The  result  of  the  whole  thing  I  am 


Minister  BuckiugluDu  ami  /lis  Family.  59 

afraid  will  be  a  family  feud  for  generations.  I  advise  you  two 
gentlemen  to  come  together  and  shake  hands  and  say  it  is  all 
right ;  and  now,  as  an  inducement  with  you  so  to  do,  I  will  give 
you  the  fees  of  my  office  for  holding  this  court."  The  effect 
was  very  great,  and  they  began  to  be  thoughtful.  Presently 
one  witness  said,  "  I  will  ciiarge  you  nothing,"  and  another 
said  "  I  will  charge  you  nothing,"  and  the  lawyers  said  "  We 
will  charge  you  nothing,'*  and  then  their  hearts  were  softened 
and  they  bowed  down  and  confessed  that  they  had  done  each 
other  wrong,  and  asked  forgiveness.  They  went  home  happy 
and  afterwards  lived  in  peace.  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers. 
Scarcely  anything  needs  to  be  said  about  church  affairs. 
In  the  early  times  there  was  this  one  old  church.  Now  there 
are  six  Congregational  churches,  four  Baptist  churches,  two 
Methodist  churches,  two  Episcopal  churches,  two  Catholic 
churches,  within  the  borders  of  the  original  town  on  this  side 
of  the  river.  One  Methodist  church  has  ceased  to  be.  In 
all  there  have  been  eighteen  churches,  all  sound  in  the  faith, 
confessing  the  substance  of  the  doctrine  set  forth  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Saybrook  Platform. 

The  Rev.  SAMUEL  G.  Buckingham,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  of 
Springfield,  Mass.,  a  descendant  of  a  former  pastor  of  Say- 
brook,  read  a  paper  on 

"MINISTER    BUCKINGHAM    AND    HIS    FAMILY." 

Rev.  Thomas  Buckingham,  the  second  pastor  of  this 
church,  was  the  son  of  Thomas  Buckingham,  one  of  the  com- 
pany which  settled  New  Haven  in  1638.  This  able  and 
opulent  company,  led  by  such  men  as  P2aton  and  Hopkins, 
rich  London  merchants,  and  Mr.  Davenport,  who  had  been  a 
famous  minister  in  London  and  was  followed  by  many  of 
his  congregation,  reached  Boston  the  previous  summer,  where 
they  passed   the   winter,   and  the    next  spring  they  sailed 


6o  Sayb7'ooJcs  Qiiadrimillciiial. 

around    to    Oulnnipiack,    the    Indian    name    of   their    future 
home. 

This  old  Puritan  settler  and  ancestor  of  all  of  the  name  in 
this  country  is  registered  among  the  original  planters  of  New 
Haven,  and  in  the  first  division  of  lands  received  his  allot- 
ment near  the  corner  of  College  and  Crown  Streets,  some- 
where near  the  large  spreading  oak  under  which  Mr.  Daven- 
port preached  his  first  sermon  on  the  "  Dangers  of  the 
Wilderness,"  and  not  far  from  the  spot  where  Dr.  Lyman 
Beecher  was  afterwards  born. 

It  was  decided  to  make  another  settlement  at  Milford,  and 
as  the  company  had  brought  over  two  ministers,  Mr.  Daven- 
port and  Mr.  Prudden,  the  latter  became  the  pastor  of  the 
new  flock.  The  church  was  organized  at  New  Haven  and 
the  mode  of  organization  was  this :  Seven  men  were 
selected  for  their  known  Christian  character,  who  covenanted 
with  God  and  with  each  other,  to  walk  together  in  all  the 
ways  and  ordinances  of  the  gospel.  To  these  the  rest  were 
joined.  Among  those  "  seven  pillars,"  as  they  were  called, 
is  still  found  on  the  old  records  the  name  of  Thomas  Buck- 
ingham, and  among  those  soon  added  is  Hannah,  his  wife. 
Opposite  his  name,  in  the  handwriting  of  the  second  minister, 
is  the  entry,  "  dy  at  Boston,  1657."  Upon  the  death  of  Mr. 
Prudden,  he  was  sent  to  the  Bay  to  procure  another  minister  ; 
and  it  appears  from  the  probate  records  at  New  Haven,  that 
he  made  his  will  just  before  he  left  and  that  he  never  returned. 
The  pastor  of  this  church  was  the  youngest  of  his  six  chil- 
dren, two  of  whom  were  born  in  P^ngland.  This  one  bore  his 
father's  name,  and  was  born  at  Milford,  November  8th,  1646. 
Minister  Buckingham,  as  he  was  called,  began  his  ministry 
here  in  1665,  though  he  was  not  ordained  until  1670.  Where 
he  was  educated  is  not  known,  but  he  probably  studied  the- 
ology with  Rev,  John  Whiting  of  Hartford,  where  he  married 
his  wife,  Hester  Hormer.  His  parish  was  large,  embracing  the 
present  towns  of  Old  Saybrook,  Saybrook,  Chester,  Essex, 
Westbrook,  and  a  considerable  part  of  Lyi)ie  across  the  river. 


]\/i7u'slcr  Bucki7igJui))i  and  liis  Fanii/y.  6\ 

At  the  same  meeting  when  the  town  agreed  upon  the  terms 
of  settlement  with  Mr.  l^uckingham,  the  "  IMack  llill  quar- 
ter," which  represented  Lyme,  was  aUowed  to  form  a  separate 
parish,  having  sufficient  land  for  thirty  families.*  The  new 
minister  was  but  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  succeeded  that 
able  man,  Mr.  James  Fitch,  who  had  removed  to  Norwich,! 
taking  with  him,  as  we  have  been  told,  a  number  of  his  most 
valuable  parishioners,  and  greatly  weakening  this  church  ; 
yet  the  young  pastor  maintained  and  built  up  the  church, 
and  sustained  himself  here  for  forty-four  years,  growing  into 
the  respect  and  love  of  his  people,  and  becoming  influential 
throughout  the  colonies. 

One  of  the  most  important  works  of  your  pastor's  minis- 
try was  the  part  he  took  in  the  founding  of  Yale  College. 
The  New  Haven  Colony  had  purposed  from  the  first  to  have 
a  college.  Some  fifty  years  before.  New  Haven  had  made 
a  donation  of  ^300  for  such  a  purpose,  and  Milford  proposed 
to  give  ^100  more.  Gov.  Hopkins's  gift  to  found  a  gram- 
mar school,  the  one  which  now  bears  his  name  at  New 
Haven,  was  at  one  time  surrendered  into  the  hands  of  the 
general  court,  for  the  purpose  of  making  it  a  college;  and 
the  legislature  promised  an  annual  appropriation  for  some 
such  institution.  Init  the  college  at  Cambridge  needed  all  the 
funds  that  could  be  collected  for  such  a  pur[)ose.  Frequent 
contributions  were  made  to  it  from  both  the  Connecticut  and 
New  Haven  Colonies,  and  money  was  also  paid  to  it  out  of 
the  public  treasury.      And  for  all  these  years  the  inhabitants 

*Tlie  connection  between  Saybiuok  and  Lyme  must  always  have  been 
close,  not  only  on  account  of  their  near  neij;hborhood  and  early  connection  in 
the  same  parish,  but  as  also  appears  on  the  records  from  their  frequent  inter- 
marriages. This  was  true  of  our  own  family,  for  while  our  father  was  of  Say- 
brook,  our  mother  was  from  Lyme. 

f  Mr.  Fitch  lived  and  died  there  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty,  or  rather  in 
that  vicinity,  for  he  spent  the  very  last  of  his  life  and  died  in  my  native  town  of 
Lebanon.  I  have  often  read  that  long  and  elegant  obituary  in  Latin  upon  his 
gravestone  ;  it  could  hardly  have  been  better  written,  if  he,  scholar  as  he  was, 
had  composed  it  himself. 


62  Saybroo/cs  Quadriiuillcnial. 

of  the  State  educated  their  sons  there.  But  the  original  plan 
was  never  rcHnquished,  until  in  1700,  tliosc  ten  ministers,  of 
whom  your  pastor  was  one,  who  had  been  nominated  and 
agreed  upon  as  trustees,  came  together  at  Branford,  and  with 
their  few  books,  and  by  that  simple  declaration  from  each, 
"  I  give  these  books  to  the  founding  of  a  college  in  this  Col- 
ony," they  laid  the  corner  stone  of  that  university  which  has 
so  long  been  the  seat  of  sound  learning  and  of  true  piety, 
and  promises  to  remain  such  as  long  as  the  love  of  learning 
and  Christian  faith  shall  last.  True,  those  few  books  were  a 
small  endowment  for  such  an  institution,  but  they  implied  a 
love  of  letters. which  would  afterwards  furnish  the  needed 
facilities  for  all  kinds  of  education  and  forms  of  culture.  The 
pecuniary  value  of  such  gifts  was  trifling,  but  it  was  the  pledge 
of  all  the  liberality  which  has  been,  or  shall  be  embodied  in 
the  rich  endowment  of  its  future.  And  the  minister  who  had 
so  much  to  do  with  the  founding  of  this  college,  and  the 
community  who  were  so  anxious  to  have  it  located  among 
them,  and  subscribed  almost  as  much  as  New  Haven  for  this 
purpose  (Saybrook's  subscription  being  ^500  sterling,  while 
New  Haven's  with  its  greater  population  and  means  was  only 
iJ"70o),  may  always  claim  honorable  and  grateful  mention  from 
every  historian  of  the  university. 

But  the  college,  if  founded,  had  no  endowment.  It  had 
not  even  a  location.  Mr.  Lyndc  of  this  town  was  pleased 
generously  to  give  a  house  and  land  for  the  use  of  the  college 
so  long  as  it  should  continue  here.  The  trustees,  after  some 
debate,  made  choice  of  this  as  the  most  convenient  location 
for  their  collegiate  school,  and  chose  Mr.  Picrson  of  Killing- 
worth  as  its  rector.  But  he,  not  being  able  to  remove  here, 
was  allowed  to  retain  some  of  the  students  there,  while  others 
were  sent  here  to  study  under  tutors,  and  be  under  the  super- 
vision of  Mr.  Buckingham.  This  state  of  things  continued 
for  a  dozen  years,  and  the  commencements  were  held  here; 
and  it  was  not  until  1718  that  the  college  was  fully  located  at 
New  Haven,  and  the  first  commencement  held  there.     The 


hfiiu'stcr  Jjuckiiighani  and  his  Family.  6 


J 


liistory  of  that  removal,  and  the  temporary  opposition  made 
to  it  here,  I  need  not  rehearse.  It  is  enough  to  know  that 
your  minister  remained  until  his  death,  a  faithful  and  trusted 
member  of  its  corporation,  and  when  he  died,  his  son  Stephen, 
the  minister  of  Norwalk,  succeeded  to  the  same  trust,  while 
you  have  always  been  educating  your  sons  at  that  college. 

Mr.  Buckingham's  position  among  the  churches  of  Connec- 
ticut was  highly  honorable  to  him.  He  was  chosen  one  of 
the  two  moderators  of  the  Synod  held  here  in  1708,  and 
which  framed  the  "  Saybrook  Platform,"  as  it  is  called.  Of 
the  nature  of  that  ecclesiastical  sy.stem  of  faith  and  church 
organization,  I  need  not  speak,  after  the  careful  and  candid 
consideration  of  the  subject  by  Professor  Pratt,  to  which  we 
have  just  listened.  If  I  was  to  make  any  additional  sugges- 
tion, it  would  be  : — that  while  it  proved  a  mistake  to  con- 
nect the  churches  so  closely  with  the  civil  government,  and 
create  a  "standing  order"  by  law,  which  all  must  be  taxed 
to  support,  except  as  they  formally  joined  some  other  denom- 
ination, and  while  it  was  too  great  a  departure  from  pure 
Congregationalism  towards  Presbyterianism: — there  is  this  to 
be  said  about  its  adoption  :  the  times  were  bad  :  and  there 
were  many  difficulties  in  the  churches,  and  unsatisfactory 
modes  of  settling  them  :  and  there  had  been  a  falling  away 
from  the  original  faith  and  exemplary  living  of  the  first  set- 
tlers. The  magistrates  and  the  ministers  were  on  the  most 
friendly  terms,  the  former  being  accustomed  to  consult  the 
latter  on  matters  of  legislation,  and  the  latter  thinking  that 
more  rigid  laws,  and  a  stronger  ecclesiastical  system  enforced 
by  the  State,  would  remedy  the  evils  under  which  they  were 
suffering,  were  ready  to  ask  f(jr  such  aid,  which,  like  all 
church- and-state  unions,  sooner  or  later  harm  the  ciuirch 
more  than  they  hcl[)  it.  There  was  also  a  large  Presbyterian 
element  in  the  Connecticut  churches,  and  much  intercourse 
and  a  close  sympathy  with  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  where 
Presbyterian  churches  were  numerous  which  favored  such 
action.      And  if  that  Synod  made  concessions  to   Presb)'ter- 


64  SaybrooJc  s  Qiiadriiniltenial. 

ianism,  which  none  of  the  other  chinclies  of  New  England 
have  seen  fit  to  nialce,  it  certainly  does  honor  to  their  cath- 
olicity of  spirit  and  Christian  liberality,  if  not  to  their  wisdom. 

Mr.  Biickingliam's  connection  with  the  Indians  of  this 
region  was  also  an  interesting  one.  Uncas,  chief  of  the 
Mohigans  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  had  always  been 
a  good  friend  to  the  settlers.  He  and  his  sons  sold  and  gave 
away  many  tracts  of  land  to  persons  in  this  town  and  else- 
where.* Mr.  Buckingham  and  Thomas  Clark  purchased  such 
a  tract  of  Joshua  Uncas,  one  of  his  sons,  lying  in  the  north 
part  of  Lebanon,  where  our  family  afterwards  settled,  though 
not  upon  that  land,  or  having  any  connection  with  it,  but 
where  several  of  the  name  did  settle.  Attawanhood,  another 
of  the  sons  of  Uncas,  was  chief  of  the  Indians  in  this  vicinity, 
and  of  the  same  disposition.  He  seems  to  have  come  quite 
under  the  influence  of  our  civilization  and  Christianity,  for 
he  makes  Minister  Buckingham  one  of  the  executors  of  his 
will  and  the  guardian  of  his  children.  He  directed  that  his 
sons  should  live  near  Saybrook,  and  be  taught  luiglish  by 
their  mother,  and,  at  the  end  of  four  years,  be  placed  in  an 
English  school,  and  he  also  requested  for  himself,  that  he 
might  be  "  buried  at  Saybrook,  in  a  cofifin,  after  the  manner 
of  the  English";  all  this  is  another  pleasant  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  your  good  minister. 

As  to  his  family,  it  may  be  said  that  he  had  nine  children, 
seven  of  whom  lived  to  grow  up  and  marry  and  settle  here, 
leaving  behind  them  families  of  children. 

Thomas  was  a  prominent  man  in  town  affairs,  being  appoin- 
ted to  many  important  offices  of  trust,  and  was  also  a  prom- 
inent member  of  the  church,  and  a  large  land-holder. 

Daniel  was  for  many  years  justice  of  the  peace,  and  held 

*It  is  often  charged  upon  our  ancestors,  that  they  robbed  the  Indians  of 
their  lands,  or  paid  for  them  with  a  few  coats  or  hatcliets  ;  but  these  lands  had 
no  value.  As  late  as  1776,  the  land  which  Massachusetts  claimed  as  a  part  of 
her  southern  boundary,  and  was  finally  surrendered  to  Connecticut,  was  sold  at 
auction,  and  only  brought  a  little  more  than  a  farthing  an  acre. 


I 


Minister  BuchingJiai}!  and  /lis  Fiunily.  65 

other  important  offices  in  the  town,  and  was  also  a  prominent 
member  of  the  cluirch,      lie  was  also  a  lar^e  land-hoUler. 

Stephen  was  pastor  of  the  church  at  Norwalk  thirty  years. 

Heaekiah  also  appears  frequently  as  appointed  to  offices 
of  trust. 

The  three  sisters  were  also  married  and  settled  here,  leav- 
ing behind  them  children,  some  of  whose  descendants,  under 
other  names  than  the  family  name,  are  well  known  to  you 
and  respected. 

Our  branch  of  the  family,  descending  through  Daniel, 
Daniel  Jr.,  Samuel,  Samuel  Jr.,  made  this  their  home  for 
four  generations,  and  their  dust  has  mingled  freely  with  the 
ashes  of  your  friends.  My  father  left  here  at  the  beginning 
of  this  century,  and  indeed  his  eldest  child  was  born  here. 
]5ut  wherever  his  children  have  been  located,  they  have 
thought  kindly  of  the  home  of  their  ancestry,  and  been  most 
grateful  to  that  good  minister,  who  taught  them  a5  he  had 
been  taught  himself,  "  To  fear  God  and  keep  His  command- 
ments" and  "  To  love  others  as  we  love  ourselves,"  as  the 
first  preparation  for  the  duties  of  this  life,  and  the  only 
preparation  for  the  life  immortal. 

The  following  almost  obliterated  inscriptions  are  still  found 
on  stones  in  the  old  burying  ground  at  Saybrook  Point: — 

"  Here  lies  the  body  of  the 

Rev  Mr  Thomas  Buckingham 

Pastor  of  the  Church  of 

Christ  in  Saybrook,  dec'd 

April  ye  ist  1709  in  ye 

63  year  of  his  age  " 

"  Mrs  Hester  Buckingham 

Wife  to  ye  Rev  Mr  Thomas 

liuckinghani,  Pastor  of  ye 

Church  of  Christ  in  .Saybrook 

Dec'd  June  3,  1702,  in 

yp  5O  year  of  her  age." 


66  SaybrooJcs  Qitadrimilteiiial. 

A  poem  written  for  the  occasion  by  Mr.  GEORGE  W.  BUN- 
CAY  of  New  York,  was  then  read  by  Mr.  MORTIMER 
Chapman  of  Saybrook,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  first 
settlers  of  the  town, 

SAY-BROOK. 

Wliat  did  the  gray  forefalhers  know, 
Two  centuries  and  a  half  ago  ? 
Ihey  planted  colonies  that  grow, 

In  greatness,  symmetry,  and  beauty. 
The  axe,  the  anvil,  and  the  loom, 
The  towering  spire,  the  rounded  dome, 
The  happy  kingdom  of  the  home, 

Reveal  the  force  of  love  and  duty. 


Fair  Lady  Fenwick,  pure  and  just, 
Whose  fame  smells  sweetly  from  the  dust. 
On  whose  sweet  spirit  no  distrust 

Could  cast  a  shadow  of  disfavor, 
Still  lives  in  sacred  memory. 
Waves  voice  her  honor  from  the  sea, 
Which  drowns  discord  in  harmony  ; 

Its  praise  is  salt  that  holds  its  savor. 

We  jubilantly  hail  to-day 

The  name  and  history  of  Say, 

Who  ruled  his  realm  with  quiet  sway 

And  raised  it  to  a  prosperous  portal  ; 
With  glad  complaisance  we  can  look 
At  the  memorials  of  Brook, 
Seen  in  the  street  and  shady  nook  ; 

Say-Brook,  twin-name,  that's  made  immortal. 

In  potchards,  flints,  and  arrow-heads. 
And  Indian  mounds,  where  narrow  beds 
Hold  bones  of  the  untutored  "  Reds," 

We  scan  the  earliest  history 
Of  this  good,  fair,  and  fertile  land. 
Settled  and  tilled  by  a  brave  band, 
Guided  and  guarded  by  the  Hand 

Of  Him  who  solves  life's  mystery. 


Say-Brook.  6  7 

Wlicre  the  wiKl  Indian's  wigwam  stood, 
And  beasts  found  shelter  in  the  wood, 
Progress  has  paved  the  iron  road, 

That  links  the  States  which  grow  to  nations. 
Ox-carts  give  way,  the  steam-car  flics 
On  winged  wheels,  where  cities  rise, 
With  steeples  pointing  to  the  skies  ; 

Here  freedom's  greeted  with  ovations. 

In  early  days  wise  men  had  sown 

The  seeds  of  learning,  which  have  grown 

To  schools  and  colleges  that  own 

A  lofty  and  a  glorious  name. 
One  stainless  flag  to-day  we  hail, 
It  never  taught  a  lad  to  fail  ; 
Our  happy  land  is  proud  of  Yale, 

And  Saybrook  claims  in  part  her  fame. 

After  a  few  words  from  the  Chairman,  the  audiencp  united 
in  singing  "America,"  and  the  benediction  was  pronounced 
by  the  Rev.  Jesse  Brusii,  Rector  of  Grace  Church. 


N  O  1  E 


T^HROUGII  the  kindness  of  C.  J.  Iloadly,  Esq.,  Libnirian 
■*■  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  the  first  speaker  was  enabled  to 
show  to  the  audience  two  letters  written  to  Governor  Winthrop  by 
the  officers  in  charge  of  Saybrook  fort  soon  after  1700.  To  one 
of  the  letters  were  appended  two  circular  bits  of  paper  showing 
the  calibre  of  the  "  great  guns  "  for  which  balls  were  needed,  one 
being  a  little  less  and  the  other  a  little  more  than  three  inches 
in  diameter. 

Professor  V.  B.  Dexter  of  Yale  College  brought  from  the  college 
library  President  Sliles's  "  Itinerary,"  containing  two  diagrams  of 
Saybrook  Point,  marking  the  location  of  buildings,  etc.,  as  he 
found  them  in  1793.  With  Professor  Dexter's  courteous  per- 
mission, one  of  these  plans  has  been  reproduced  in  fac-simile 
and  is  prefixed  to  this  volume. 

Among  the  others  who  were  i)resent  was  ]\Ir.  David  Lion  Gar- 
diner of  New  Haven,  a  descendant  of  Lion  Gardiner,  the  engineer 
who  built  the  first  fort  and  laid  out  the  town,  and  of  David 
Gardiner,  the  first  white  child  born  in  what  is  now  Connecticut. 

His  Excellency  the  Governor  of  the  State  and  many  other  in- 
vited guests  expressed  to  the  Committee  tlteir  regrets  that  they 
were  not  able  to  attend.  'J'he  Rev.  F.  N.  Zabriskie,  D,  I).,  of 
Princeton,  N.  J.,  formerly  pastor  in  Saybrook,  wrote  as  follows  : 

I  am  in  receipt  of  your  note  of  November  201I1,  inviting  me  and  my  family, 
in  behalf  of  the  Committee,  to  attend  the  commemoration  of  the  two  hundred 
and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  settlement  of  Saybrook.  I  thank  you  heartily 
for  the  courtesy  and  kind  remembrance. 

I  need  not  assure  you  that  it  would  afford  me  very  great  satisfaction  to  be 
present   on   so   interesting   an    occasion.     Old   Saybrook  holds    a  very  warm 


Note.  69 

place  in  my  heart,  and  the  rccoUeclion  of  my  residence  tlierc  is  among  tlie 
golden  spots  in  my  memory.  As  the  shadows  jjegin  to  len(;lhcn  on  my  path- 
way, it  is  a  source  of  no  little  gratitude  and  yratification  to  me  to  feci  that  I 
may  have  borne  a  humble  part  in  promoting  the  best  interests  of  tlie  dear  oM 
town  and  in  maintaining  the  faith  which  the  founders  brought  with  them  to  the 
new  world,  and  for  which  they  forfeited  so  much. 

I  regret,  however,  that  the  state  of  my  health  and  other  circumstances  put 
it  out  of  my  power  to  participate  in  the  celebration  of  the  27th.  Be  assured 
that  I  shall  be  none  the  less  present  in  spirit,  and  with  my  earnest  and  affection- 
ate wishes  for  the  temporal  and  spiritual  prosperity  of  the  good  old  town  and  of 
every  one  of  its  inhabitants. 

My  family,  who  have  most  delightful  associations  with  Saybrook,  and  one 
of  whom  (my  only  son)  has  the  honor  to  be  a  native,  all  join  me  in  these  con- 
gratulations and  greetings. 

Yours  faithfully, 

K.  N.  Zaiikiskik. 

The   Rev.   Theodore   L.   Ciiyler,    I).   D.,   of   P.rouklyn,    N.   Y., 
wrote  : 

I  thank  you  for  your  kind  invitation.  Nothing  would  give  me  iiHirc  |)leas- 
ure  than  to  join  in  the  "Jubilee"  of  charming  old  Saybrook,  in  which  I  have 
spent  so  many  happy  hours,  and  whose  kind  ]ieople  I  regard  so  warmly.  lUit 
I  am  held /rtj/  and  ii:^hl  at  home  on  Friday  and  Saturday  by  important  church 
engagements,  which  I  cannot  possibly  leave. 

I  should  like  to  swing  my  hat  in  a  good  hearty  cheer  for  the  "fast- 
anchored"  old  town,  whose  "Platform"  was  built  of  the  soundest  timber,  whose 
lighthouse  has  never  grown  dim,  and  whose  sons  and  daughters  rise  up  to  bless 
her  memory  forevermore.  It  is  not  easy  to  say  "No"  to  so  cordial  an  invitation 
from  three  of  the  Saybrook  sisterhood,  but  necessity  compels  me  to  do  it. 

With  heartiest  good  wishes  for  a  right  royal  celebration,  I  remain. 
Cordially  and  gratefully  yours, 

TlIEO.    I,.    Cl'YI.ER. 

Tlie  Hon.  T.  C.  Acton  of  New  York  sent  tliis  tcleyram  : 

lion.  John  Allen,  Presiding  Officer,  Saybrook  : — 

My  Saybrook  sisters  :  My  spirit  is  with  you  to-day  and  rcjuiccs  in  the 
success  attending  your  hajipy  inspiration.  What  man  proposes  and  fails  to 
accomplish,  woman,  I  am  proud  to  say,  disposes  and  happily  succeeds  in  this 
instance.  I  regret  the  weakness  of  my  brothers  and  applaud  the  strength  of  my 
sisters.  Don't  be  too  much  elated,  but  dwell  together  same  as  usual,  in  frater- 
nal love,  and  I'll  go  back  to  Mother. 

Alice  Boteler  Fenwick,  through  spiritual  medium, 

T110.MAS  C.  Acton. 


THE  LIBRARY 
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